PA Environment Digest

Two years ago the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and seven partner groups set out on a mission to reach plain sect (Amish and conservative Mennonite) farmers in Lancaster and Chester counties. The goal: enroll 50 farmers in a new program to improve water quality in the region.

"The Buffer Bonus" program offers plain sect farmers the opportunity to implement best management practices (BMPs) on their farms at reduced or no cost.

Plain sect communities are tight-knit and separate from the larger culture, and have a propensity to steer clear of any state or federal funding assistance.

Buffer Bonus is a new twist, however. It is a three-year initiative to install forest buffers along streams and rivers, reduce runoff from barnyards and animal concentration areas, increase the use of no-till farming and cover crops, and provide conservation planning.

Interest has been building. In the first year, three farmers enrolled in the program. Lamonte Garber, Agricultural Manager for CBF's Pennsylvania office, knew it was time to take the message to a wider audience. He and partners scheduled three workshops, all to be held in Lancaster County in or near plain sect communities.

Garber and Ashley Spotts, CBF's restoration specialist in Lancaster County, started visiting communities in Conestoga, Pequea, and Octoraro watersheds and talking with people one-on-one to encourage participation in the workshops. These visits often include another partner who may have a personal connection with the farmer. This hands-on approach coupled with outreach and communications tools directed specifically to these communities paid off.

The first workshop, held in February, hosted 65 participants, and more than 130 attended the additional workshops which were held in March. Many farmers have since expressed interest in the program.

Partners include Chester County Conservation District; Comprehensive Land Services, Inc.; Lancaster County Conservation District; Lancaster Farmland Trust; Red Barn, Inc.; Team Ag, Inc.; and U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service.

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