ANNAPOLIS — Farmers in Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties who plant trees along a stream can collect a one-time bonus of $1,000 an acre from the state this winter, on top of thousands more per acre to install the buffer.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture has reopened its Conservation Buffer Initiative, now in its seventh year. Applications are being accepted from Nov. 1 through April 30, 2027, at local soil conservation district offices, according to the department’s program page, and they are handled first come, first served.
The bonus is not a payment for every buffer. It applies only to new forest buffers, and it comes in addition to the regular installation payment, not in place of it. Grass buffers are paid at lower rates and do not qualify for the tree bonus.
What the state pays
Payments range from $500 an acre for an existing grass buffer to $4,500 an acre for a forest buffer with livestock fencing.
| Buffer type | Next to | New or improved | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest buffer, 35 to 100 feet wide | Cropland | $4,000/acre plus $1,000 tree bonus | 10 years |
| Fenced forest buffer, 35 to 100 feet | Pasture | $4,500/acre plus $1,000 tree bonus | 10 years |
| Grass buffer, 35 to 100 feet | Cropland | $2,000/acre | 5 years |
| Narrow grass buffer, 10 to 34 feet | Cropland | $1,000/acre | 5 years |
| Fenced grass buffer, 35 to 100 feet | Pasture | $2,500/acre | 5 years |
| Fenced narrow grass buffer, 10 to 34 feet | Pasture | $1,500/acre | 5 years |
Forest buffers also come with maintenance money: up to $330 an acre each year for the first five years of the contract, paid once the planting is well established.
As an illustration, a farmer who converts five acres of cropland along a stream to forest buffer would be eligible for $20,000 for installation and a $5,000 tree bonus, plus as much as $8,250 in maintenance payments over five years.
Farmers receive 75% of the project cost up front and the remaining 25% after the planting on enrolled land is verified. Planting must be done within a year of signing the agreement.
The fine print
Eligible land is cropland next to a stream or ditch with an established history in pasture, commodity crops or hay, or streamside areas with highly erodible or hydric soils as determined by the local district. Several limits apply:
- Field ditches qualify for grass buffers but not for trees and shrubs
- Land already enrolled in state or federal programs such as MACS, CRP, CREP or EQIP, or required to be buffered by an easement, is not eligible
- Mowing and cutting hay for the farm’s own use are allowed; applying nutrients is not, and grazing is not allowed inside a fenced access control area
- Farmers who lease must certify that the lease runs for the full term of the buffer or provide the landowner’s agreement
- Applicants must be in good standing with USDA and state cost-share programs and submit a current Nutrient Management Plan Certification
The department says additional restrictions may apply, and a 10-year contract is a long commitment for ground that could otherwise be cropped. The program is aimed at marginal land along streams and floodplains, where yields are often lowest.
Why the state pays for trees
Streamside buffers filter runoff before it reaches local creeks and, eventually, the Patuxent, the Potomac and the Chesapeake Bay. Forest buffers do more of that work than grass, which is why the state pays the most for them and adds the bonus to encourage more tree planting.
To apply, farmers need the program application, a map showing the buffer’s location and acreage, a signed Nutrient Management Plan Certification Form and an IRS Form W-9. District staff provide free technical help designing and installing the buffer. Contact information for the Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s offices is in the department’s soil conservation district directory.
The buffer program is separate from the department’s Healthy Soils Competitive Fund, a grant of up to $50,000 for soil health and agroforestry projects that has its own application and an earlier deadline of Jan. 8, 2027.
