(a) The plan must include the acreage and
realistic expected crop yields for each crop management unit.
(b) For the development of the initial plan,
expected crop yields may not exceed those considered realistic for the soil
type and climatic conditions, as set by the operator and the specialist, and
approved by the Commission or delegated conservation district. If actual yield
records are available during the development of the initial plan, the expected
crop yields shall be based on these records.
(c) If after the first 3 years of
implementing the plan, the yields do not average at least 80% of the planned
expected yield, the plan shall be amended to be consistent with the documented
yield levels unless sufficient justification for the use of the higher yields
is approved by the Commission or delegated conservation district. The amendment
shall be submitted as required under §
83.371 (relating to plan
amendments).
(d) When determining
expected crop yields for plan amendments, expected crop yields shall be based
on documented yield levels achieved for the operation. Expected crop yields
higher than historically achieved may be used if sufficient justification is
approved by the Commission or delegated conservation district for the use of
the higher yields.
(e) When
developing the initial plan, soil tests shall be conducted for each crop
management unit on the operation, to determine the level of phosphorus (as P),
potassium (as K), and soil pH, as follows:
(1) The soil test procedures used must
provide accurate test results. The procedures recommended by the Pennsylvania
State University and published in Recommended Soil Testing Procedures
for the Northeastern United States, Bulletin #493, published by the
University of Delaware, may be used to meet this requirement. Other procedures
shall be approved by the Commission.
(2) Soil tests conducted within the previous
3 years prior to submitting the initial plan are acceptable.
(3) The plan must include an appendix
containing a summary of the results of the soil test analyses for each crop
management unit showing the following:
(i)
Soil test levels for phosphorus and potassium as reported by the
laboratory.
(ii) Soil test levels
for phosphorus (as P) in parts-per-million (PPM) and potassium (as K) in PPM,
after conversion from the test results from the laboratory, as
needed.
(iii) Soil test levels for
pH.
(iv) The date of the soil tests
and the name of the lab performing the tests.
(4) After the approval of the initial plan,
soil tests are required for each crop management unit at least every 3 years
from the date of the last test.
(f) Based on the soil tests in subsection
(e), the plan must include recommendations for the amount of nitrogen (as total
N), phosphorus (as P2O5) and
potassium (as K2O) necessary for realistic expected crop
yields.
(g) If necessary based on
the type of crops planned, the recommendations from the initial soil test shall
be adjusted to determine the appropriate amount of nutrients necessary to
achieve realistic expected crop yields. This adjustment may be satisfied by
using the methodologies in the Soil Test Recommendations Handbook for
Agronomic Crops published by the Pennsylvania State University
Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory. Other methodologies for this
adjustment shall be approved by the Commission.
