Ag Conservation Pros Recognized At 2026 Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program Conservation Con In Indiana County

Posted Thursday, October 15, 2026 3:14 pm

David E. Hess (via PA Environmental Digest)

The 2026 ACAP Awards were presented at the ACAP Ag Conservation Con in Indiana, PA in September to recognize outstanding individuals, teams, and partnerships for their efforts and impacts on agricultural conservation across Pennsylvania.

The award recipients represent the innovation, collaboration, and dedication that make the Agriculture Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP), a program administered by the PA State Conservation Commission, such a success.

And the award winners are--

-- Karl Brown Award for Ag Conservation Leadership: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding was recognized for his critical role in advancing the vision for ACAP and turning that vision into a major statewide investment in agricultural conservation.

Secretary Redding actively worked with the Governor, legislators, the State Conservation Commission, conservation districts, farmers, and other partners, to help build the case for a dedicated program that would provide Pennsylvania farmers with meaningful financial assistance to implement conservation practices while improving water quality and strengthening farm viability.

These efforts contributed to the creation of ACAP through the Clean Streams Fund legislation and the commitment of an initial $154 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding, representing one of Pennsylvania's largest-ever investments in agricultural conservation.

After securing the initial funding, Secretary Redding went on to lead the initiative to secure a statewide dedicated funding source for ACAP in 2024.

-- Future Conservationist Award: Aarush Muthukrishnan, Pennsylvania STEM State Project Ambassador for 4-H and a student at North Allegheny High School, realized that while artificial intelligence is transforming the technology sector, its benefits rarely reach small-scale or local farmers.

He saw an opportunity to make expensive, commercial-grade precision agriculture accessible and open-source for everyday conservation efforts.

For the National 4-H AI in Agriculture Challenge, he engineered TerraScan: an open-source spectral robot prototype designed to monitor soil and plant health.

-- ACAP County Team Award: Chester County Conservation District for their outstanding work delivering ACAP across three counties.

In addition to administering ACAP within Chester County, the Ag Team has also taken on the responsibility of administering ACAP in Philadelphia County and assisting with program administration in neighboring Delaware County.

The team has embodied the expertise, collaboration, and dedication necessary to successfully deliver programs that make a lasting impact on Pennsylvania agriculture and water quality.

As the team has taken on these responsibilities, they have continually adapted their processes, strengthened coordination, and maintained a high level of customer service, all while managing an increasing number of applications, contracts, sealed bids, surveys, engineering designs, and construction projects.

Leading the way is Christian Strohmaier, the managing director of the district and Dan Miloser, Agricultural Team Leader.

The team consists of Briana Johanson, Laurell Bostdorf, Jeff Griffiths, Ben Drover, Kara Schoch, Thomas D'Lauro, Marcus Bowser, Emily Greenwood, Paige LaDuca, and Karen Stasen.

Two district board members, Fran Iacobucci and Tom Brosius, were also included in this nomination for their efforts specific to ACAP.

-- ACAP Partnership Award: individuals supporting the implementation of ACAP in Luzerne County.

Through the pairing of ACAP, Countywide Action Plan Block Grant (CAP), and Growing Greener Grant funds, this partnership made it possible to put projects that had sat on the shelf for several years into action.

Through persistence, flexibility, and a shared commitment to conservation, the different teams effectively collaborated to maximize available resources, reduce financial barriers for the producer, and achieve environmental outcomes that would not have been possible through any single funding source or agency working alone.

The conservation professionals recognized in this award include Jennifer Merryman, Mike Schlauch, and Josh Longmore from the Luzerne Conservation District; Mike Fron from the Susquehanna Conservation District; Todd Deroba, Sandra Insalaco, and Jason Fellon from the Department of Environmental Protection; and Eddie Stockert, Teah Murray, Adam Winey, and Josh Glace from Larson Design Group.

-- Innovative ACAP Project Award: was given to the Curly Hill Farm project in Bucks County. Collaboration between the producer and conservation partners led to a unique idea on how to address manure management on the Worthington Family’s dairy operation.

The team built a compost bedded pack manure storage structure that allows newly deposited manure to be frequently incorporated into the thick bedded pack to compost.

This innovative system only requires the area to be cleaned out twice a year.

Included in this award was Ryan Herstine from Bucks County Conservation District; Rosalynd Orr, Wayne Carvell, and Racquel Kreischer from NRCS; Adam Mowery and Matt Hood from Mowery Environmental; Sarah Crooke from Crooke Ag Consulting; and Aaron and Steve Worthington, farmers of Curly Hill Farm.

-- ACAP MVP: was presented to Pierce Willson of the Fayette County Conservation District.

Using his fourteen years of experience with the district and his understanding of agriculture as a farmer himself, Pierce has taken the reins to build Fayette County's local ACAP program.

Using effective and sensible strategies, he has engaged with both private sector and public partners to implement best management practices in a quick and efficient manner.

Through ACAP, he has helped farmers to implement a wide variety of conservation practices in Fayette County, ranging from cover crops to prescribed grazing to roofed heavy use area protection structures.

In addition, Pierce has continually participated in the development of educational programs that support the professional development of peers within the conservation community, expanding his impact far beyond Fayette County.

--Rookie of the Year: Joanna James. Joanna began her journey as an intern with the Centre County Conservation District.

During her internship, she was instrumental in submitting a DEP Growing Greener grant that Centre County subsequently received to assist 64 farms with plan development over the next 3 years.

In August 2025, she officially joined the Huntingdon County Conservation District. Rather than waiting for experience to come with time, she actively pursued it.

She has earned the trust of local farmers by making herself readily available to answer questions, provide technical guidance, and connect them with available resources.

Within her first year, she has helped new farmers apply to ACAP and has seen several projects through to completion.

-- Best ACAP Photo: Attendees of the 2026 ACAP Ag Conservation Con voted on their favorite submission to award the Best ACAP Photo to Maranda Smith of the Lebanon County Conservation District for her photograph of a newly implemented riparian buffer on an ACAP project.

Click Here for the ACAP Award announcement + photos of all winners.

(Photos: Joanna James, Rookie of the Year Award, Huntingdon County Conservation District; Maranda Smith, Lebanon County Conservation District, Best ACAP Photo Award; Aarush Muthukrishnan, a 4-H member from Allegheny County, Future Conservationist Award.)