A Glossary for Ag Conservation Professionals

Ag Analytical Services Laboratory (AASL) – Penn State’s Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory provides a wide range of testing programs for soils, water, plants, biosolids, and other agricultural materials.

A value (A) – average annual soil loss rate over the entire length of the crop rotation.

Agricultural Erosion & Sediment Control Plan (Ag E&S Plan) – a written, site-specific record of how the farm owner does or plans to reduce erosion and sedimentation from cropland and animal heavy use areas and is the minimum planning effort required for agricultural operations in Pennsylvania.

Animal Concentration Area (ACA) – areas on a farm that include barnyards, feedlots, loafing areas, exercise lots, watering areas, sick pens, and other similar confinement areas that are heavy use. These areas tend to have no vegetation and if not properly designed can contribute to high sediment and nutrient runoff.

Animal Equivalent Unit (AEU) –One thousand pounds live weight of livestock or poultry

animals, on an annualized basis, regardless of the actual number of individual animals

comprising the unit. 

Animal Feeding Operation (AFO) – agricultural operations where animals are kept and raised in confined situations.  

Animal Heavy Use Areas (HUA) – Barnyard, feedlot, loafing area, exercise lot, or other similar area on an agricultural operation where due to the concentration of animals it is not possible to establish and maintain vegetative cover of a density capable of minimizing accelerated erosion and sedimentation by usual planting methods. The term does not include entrances, pathways, and walkways between areas where animals are housed or kept in concentration.

Animal Unit (AU) – One thousand pounds live weight of livestock or poultry animals, regardless of the actual number of individual animals comprising the unit. 

Best Management Practices (BMPs) – Activities, facilities, measures, planning, or procedures used to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation and manage stormwater to protect, maintain, reclaim, and restore the quality of waters and the existing and designated uses of waters within this Commonwealth before, during, and after earth disturbance activities.

Biosecurity – Bio refers to life, and security indicates protection. Biosecurity means using common sense practices to protect your livestock from most types of disease agents, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, and to prevent disease-causing germs from entering or being transferred from one farm or facility to another.

Chapter 91 - Requires all farms in Pennsylvania, producing or utilizing manure, to follow the Department of Environmental Protection’s Manure Management Manual. However, CAOs, CAFOs or volunteers may fall under more stringent regulations such as Act 38, the Nutrient Management Law or DEP’s CAFO requirements.

Chapter 102 – PA Code Chapter 102 - requires persons proposing or conducting earth disturbance activities to develop, implement, and maintain BMPs to minimize the potential for accelerated erosion and sedimentation and to manage post-construction stormwater.  The BMPs shall be undertaken to protect, maintain, reclaim, and restore water quality and the existing and designated uses of waters of this Commonwealth.

Clean Water Act – establishes the basic structure for regulating the discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) – A Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) is an agricultural operation that meets one or more of the following criteria under DEP's Chapter 92a.

1. The operation is considered a Concentrated Animal Operation (CAO) with greater than 300 Animal Equivalent Units (AEUs); or
2. The operation maintains an animal population of greater than 1,000 AEUs; or
3. The operation is defined as a large CAFO under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations at 40 CFR 122.23(b)(4).

Concentrated Animal Operation (CAO) – Agricultural operations with eight or more animal equivalent units where the animal density exceeds two AEUs per acre on an annualized basis and is required to have a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) under Act 38. CAO is a state designation and definition.

Conservation Plan - A Natural Resources Conservation Plan that identifies conservation practices and includes site-specific BMPs for agricultural plowing or tilling activities and animal heavy use areas. Developed with the assistance of an NRCS Certified Conservation Planner.

Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) – conservation plans that are unique to livestock and poultry operations.  These plans document the practices and strategies planned and adopted by the landowner or operator. CNMP addresses soil erosion, air quality, and water quality resource concerns associated with manure and wastewater handling, storage, and application. CNMPs are specific to USDA NRCS requirements.

Countywide Action Plan (CAP) – Implementation Block Grant countywide action plan; a county-based local water quality action plan developed by most Pennsylvania counties within the Chesapeake Bay watershed between the years of 2019-2021 as part of the Phase 3 WIP (alternatively CAP may mean climate action plan, which different levels of local government may also have).

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) – an NRCS financial program that provides financial incentives to agricultural producers and forest landowners to address natural resource concerns. 

Erosion – The natural process by which the surface of the land is worn away by water, wind, or chemical action and transported to another location.

Erosion and Sediment Control Plan (E&S) – A site-specific plan consisting of both drawings and a narrative that identifies BMPs to minimize accelerated erosion and sedimentation before, during, and after earth disturbance activities.

Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG) – Technical guides are the primary scientific reference for NRCS. They contain technical information about the conservation of soil, water, air, and related plan and animal resources. Technical guides are used in each field office and are localized.

Growing Greener (GG) – funding available from PA DEP and distributed among four state agencies. The largest single investment of state funds in Pennsylvania's history to address critical environmental concerns. DEP is authorized to allocate these funds for watershed restoration and protection; abandoned mine reclamation; and abandoned oil and gas well plugging projects.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) – Avian influence, or "bird flu", is a contagious viral disease of domestic and wild birds. It is a major threat to the poultry industry, animal health, trade, and the economy worldwide.  It has recently been discovered in dairy cattle. Biosecurity measures are critical to preventing the spread of this disease.

K – Elemental Potassium – a macronutrient that helps regulate water uptake, transpiration and aids in photosynthesis.

LS – Slope Length Factor – slope length and slope steepness factor. Represents the effect of slope length on erosion.

Manure Management Plan (MMP) – All facilities or properties that have animals or produce manure or apply manure to crop fields and pastures must have a Manure Management Plan. This includes livestock and poultry operations, small hobby farms (sheep, goats, llamas, etc.) and horse owners. 

N – Nitrogen – a macronutrient that is an essential part of proteins and nucleic acids.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – a federal agency that enriches life through science. Their mission is to better understand our natural world and help protect its precious resources and extend beyond national borders to monitor global weather and climate and work with partners around the world. NOAA does a lot of work in nutrient pollution and nonpoint source pollution.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) - The National system for the issuance of permits under section 402 of the Federal Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C.A. §  1342) including a state or interstate program which has been approved in whole or in part by the EPA, including the regulations codified in Chapter 92 (relating to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting, monitoring and compliance), and as specified in Chapter 102.

Nutrient Management Act – Act 38 – Pennsylvania’s Nutrient Management Act (Act 6) became law in spring of 1993. On October 1, 1997, the State Conservation Commission's regulations detailing the requirements under Act 6 went into effect in Pennsylvania. Since Act 6 regulations went into effect, high-density animal operations were required to develop and implement approved nutrient management plans.

Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) – A plan written, as a requirement of state law (Act 38), and regulation Chapter 83 that balances the nutrients needed on individual crop fields and nutrients supplied from manure and other nutrient sources.  The plan also includes best management practices (BMPs) to minimize the potential for environmental impact from nutrients on the operation. 

Nutrients – Elements such as phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) that, if washed into water bodies can act like fertilizer, causing issues such as excessive growth of algae, some of which can be toxic. Nutrients on a farm commonly come from animal waste/manure.

Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) – caused by rain or melting snow running across the ground accumulating any pollutants it encounters including sediment such as soil and rock particles and nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

P – Elemental Phosphorus – essential macronutrient necessary to synthesize nucleic acids and phospholipids

PADEP – Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP mission is to protect Pennsylvania’s air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment.

Penn State Extension – Penn State Extension is a modern educational organization dedicated to delivering science-based information to people, businesses, and communities. 

Penn State University – Pennsylvania's only land-grant university that has a broad mission of teaching, research, and public service. It was first chartered in 1855 as one of the nation's first colleges of agricultural science.  

Phosphorus Index (PI) – a tool used to assess the potential for phosphorus (P) to move from agricultural fields to surface water.

Phosphate (P₂O₅) – usable plant nutrient versus elemental phosphorus.

Potash (K₂O) – a potassium compound widely found in nature and commonly used as a fertilizer in agriculture. Potash is an essential macronutrient that is used as fertilizer for growing crops. Plants require potash to activate enzymes which catalyze chemical reactions important for water uptake and photosynthesis.

Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE2) – Version 2. The model used to calculate predicted average annual soil loss over the rotation (A value) and compare it with published tolerable soil loss rates (T value), used to estimate sheet and rill erosion when soil erosion is calculated.  

Riparian buffer—A BMP that is an area of permanent vegetation along surface waters.

Riparian forest buffer—A type of riparian buffer that consists of permanent vegetation that is predominantly native trees, shrubs, and forbs along surface waters that is maintained in a natural state or sustainably managed to protect and enhance water quality, stabilize stream channels and banks, and separate land use activities from surface waters.

Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) Program – REAP is a first-come, first-served program that enables farmers, businesses, and landowners to earn PA income tax credits to offset the cost of implementing conservation practices. Tax credits provided by the REAP program help farmers off-set the costs of implementing best management practices (BMPs) that benefit their farms and work to protect water quality at the same time.

Sediments – bits of detached soil particles that are eroded from soil and moved to remote locations by stormwater runoff. Sediment washed into water is the number one pollutant to water quality in Pennsylvania.

Sheet and rill erosion – sheet erosion occurs when a thin layer of topsoil is removed over an entire area or hillside, rill erosion occurs when runoff water forms small channels as it concentrates and flows down a slope.

T value (T) – The maximum amount of erosion, in tons/acre/year, that a given soil type can tolerate and still permit a high level of crop production to be sustained economically and indefinitely.

Technical Service Provider (TSP) – TSPs work on behalf of the customer to offer planning, design, and implementation services that meet NRCS criteria. This assistance helps improve the producer’s operation and addresses resource concerns on their land.

Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)- Total Maximum Daily Load is a regulatory term in the U.S. CWA, describing a value of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards. TMDL may also mean a set of pollution limits has been established to meet applicable water quality standards for a specific watershed.

USDA NRCS – United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. The mission of NRCS is to deliver conservation solutions so agricultural producers can protect natural resources and feed a growing world. Their vision is that of a world of clean and abundant water, healthy soils, resilient landscapes, and thriving agricultural communities through voluntary conservation.

Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) – watershed implementation plan; a water quality plan for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as it applies to its portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed that was developed in three phases between 2011 and 2019 in response to the 2010 TMDL (total maximum daily load) that EPA allocated to each state within the Bay watershed.

Web Soil Survey – Web Soil Survey (WSS) provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It is operated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world.