The Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)
RCPP is a program funded by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service that supports other public and private organizations to advance the implementation of conservation practices on agricultural land.
To access the farmer application, select "View Resource."
Subject Tags
- Agriculture
Requirements
- Location within the Chesapeake Bay watershed project area
- Farm Bill Program eligibility - are you eligible for NRCS programs like EQIP and CSP?
- An established mixed species cover crop to be terminated in Spring of 2026
- Current Nutrient Management Plan for the acres you enroll
What's in it for me?
- Cost-share on custom use of Plant Map 3D through either GROWMARK FS or Willard Agri-Service (product not included).
- Precise, variable rate maps for sidedress N on corn that account for cover crop N credits.
- Potential cost-avoidance where less N than planned is necessary.
- Lower input costs, higher income for the same yield.
Plant Map 3D- a New Tool to Support Farm Decisions
This RCPP Project, Scaling the Adoption of Adaptive N Management Using Low-Cost Cover Crop Imaging and N Crediting Technology, presents farmers with the opportunity to understand how their multispecies cover crop influences nitrogen availability in the subsequent crop.
Enrolled farmers will have already planted their multispecies cover crop to be terminated in spring of 2026. A participating agribusiness, either Willard or GROWMARK FS as selected by the farmer, will make a pass with a spray rig that is equipped with a set of cameras as part of a program called PlantMap3D. These cameras will take pictures of the cover crop stand, creating a high-resolution grid that captures the in-field variability in species composition and biomass of the cover crop stand.
The team will use the cover crop images to create a map that shows increases and decreases in nitrogen availability across a field as a result of nitrogen fixation and nitrogen tie-up. This map will then be provided to the agribusiness, who will adjust N applied at sidedress accordingly. Farmers may also apply their own nitrogen at sidedress if they choose to do so at the time of enrollment.
The variable rate sidedress nitrogen map generated by the project team will include reference strips that will allow comparison between baseline management practices and cover crop credited nitrogen rates, and thus identify if a scenario exists where the combination of nitrogen rate and yield result in lower income for areas of the field that follow PlantMap3D Recommendations. At enrollment, farmers may choose to sign up for foregone income payment to offset the risk of lost income.
For more information on participating in 2026, please contact
- Willard Agri-Service: Mike Twining, miket@willardag.com, 302-270-9081
- GROWMARK FS: John Richman, jrichman@growmarkfs.com, 609-579-6476
- The Nature Conservancy: Amanda Bunn, amanda.bunn@tnc.org, 610-314-0201
