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EPIC producer-led group expands farm tours, cover-crop trials and responsible-manure practices in 2025
Summary
EPIC (All Play in Partnership for Conservation) ran farm tours, cover-crop demonstrations, composting trials and manure-management trials in 2025; county staff said producer-led practices scaled beyond cost-share, with many farms adopting techniques without full subsidy.
County staff described activities by EPIC (All Play in Partnership for Conservation), a producer-led watershed group, during the Oct. 14 Environmental Resources Committee meeting. EPIC convened farm tours, demonstrations and research trials in 2025 and pursued producer-generated practices intended to reduce nutrient runoff and improve soil health.
Staff said the group organized six farm tours this year featuring a wide range of operations, from small organic vegetable growers to multi-thousand-acre dairies. EPIC also led field demonstrations: an integrated cover-crop research trial on one farm with multiple strips, skip-row planting and cover-crop establishment trials and several responsible manure-management demonstrations such as low-disturbance manure injection and composting of bed-pack.
Staff reported that EPIC farmers applied for producer-led DATCP grants and that demand outpaced cost-share availability: the county cost-shared roughly 400 acres under the group's 2025 activities while more than 5,000 acres were proposed by producers. Grant reviewers favor newer groups and novel practices, staff said, and the county continues to apply to competitive producer-led funding programs.
The group also emphasized youth education and outreach: staff described school visits, an Envirothon role (aquatic ecology test development) and classroom engagement that reached hundreds of students. Staff said producer-led peer learning and on-farm experimentation have encouraged many operators to adopt practices without full subsidies once they see local results.
Why it matters: Producer-led groups such as EPIC leverage peer learning and locally tailored trials to accelerate adoption of conservation practices at scale. County staff described the group as a key delivery partner for outreach and early adoption of practices the county may also incorporate into grant proposals.
Staff said they will continue to pursue funding and to highlight EPIC activities in future outreach and grant applications.
