Pennsylvania Farm-A-Syst is a voluntary farm self-evaluation program that farmers and rural landowners can use to evaluate how on-farm management practices, conditions and activities might be a risk to groundwater and surface water, and therefore the farm's drinking water supply.
In addition to creating awareness of farm management impacts on water quality, Pennsylvania Farm-A-Syst can be used to confirm that a farm is being managed in an environmentally sensitive way.
What is Farm-A-Syst?
Farm-A-Syst was first developed by the University of Wisconsin in cooperation with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Cooperative Extension Service as part of a national Farm-A-Syst program. Pennsylvania, as with most other states and Canada, adapted the original materials to ensure that they reflect Pennsylvania agriculture and are consistent with state regulations. Farm-A-Syst was first used in Pennsylvania in the Pequea-Mill Project in Lancaster County, and a version designed for statewide use in Pennsylvania was developed in 1997.
Farm-A-Syst first targeted at practices used around the farm buildings and other structures because they are usually located close to the farm's well, and are also commonly overlooked when farm conservation plans are developed. As Farm-A-Syst was revised for use in other regions, it was often expanded to include assessment of other areas on the farm such as crop fields, manure application, stream corridors, and woodlands.
Farm-A-Syst is totally confidential. Completed evaluations are meant to be kept by the landowner for his or her own use. However, if landowners do want advice, each Farm-A-Syst worksheet identifies public agencies that can offer assistance or that have a regulatory role.
The goal of Pennsylvania Farm-A-Syst is to help you protect groundwater and surface water, shared resources which are important to everyone.
Publications
A series of worksheets plus guidance materials designed for statewide use in Pennsylvania was developed as part of a cooperative effort among Penn State Cooperative Extension, Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and Pennsylvania Natural Resources Conservation Service. An introduction and the following Pennsylvania Farm-A-Syst evaluation worksheets are available through Penn State Extension:
- Introduction
- Water Well Condition and Construction
- Pesticide and Fertilizer Storage and Handling
- Household Wastewater Treatment System
- Animal Concentration Areas Management
- Milkhouse Waste Management
- Stream and Drainageway Management
- Petroleum Storage and Handling
- Silage Storage Management
- Animal Waste Storage and Management
- Animal Waste Land Application Management
- Soil Conservation Management
For more information contact Charlie White, Penn State Extension.
