Abstract |
Under the Tar-Pam Rules, the Basin Oversight Committee (BOC) is tasked with submitting agricultural information on a yearly basis. To obtain a better estimate of agricultural practices, this one-time statistically valid area sampling frame was applied to agricultural fields in the Tar-Pamlico River Basin in order to collect an agricultural baseline of cropping systems, soil types and currently used best management practices. Using a valid statistical sampling technique, random census blocks were selected. The number of maps selected per county in the Tar-Pamlico basin were based on how much of the county was within the river basin boundaries, as well as the amount of agriculture. Counties sampled consisted of Beaufort, Edgecombe, Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Hyde, Martin, Nash, Pamlico, Pitt, Washington, and Wilson. Warren and Vance were not sampled due to the lack of soils information, while Dare, Person and Tyrrell had insufficient land area within the basin. We collected information on a wide variety of agricultural characteristics, including number of acres in development, wildlife, and CREP/CRP. Other data collected consisted of county, field size (ac), current crop, fertilizer applications (amount and type), tillage type, cover crop use, presence of different types of buffers, buffer widths, acreage affected by the buffers, presence of water control structures, acres affected by the water control structure, field slope, receiving slope length, and presence of other BMPs (sediment basin or pond). In two counties (Franklin and Granville), slope length was also determined in order to calculate soil loss. In all other counties, soil loss was based on table values, determined by USDA-NRCS, using physiographic region and cropping system. The survey instrument is attached at the end of this report. |