In a letter dated September 15, the presidents of the Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia Farm Bureaus called on U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to create a program called the Chesapeake Bay Resilient Farms Initiative (CRFI) to direct $737 million in conservation assistance to farmers in local watersheds “known to have the greatest influence on the Chesapeake Bay and offer the most cost-effective solutions.”

The six Farm Bureau presidents pledged to work with Vilsack and their state congressional delegations “to find funding that would then flow through proven conservation programs administered by the Natural Resources Service, such as Conservation Technical Assistance, Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Regional Conservation Partnership Program, to put these practices on the ground.”

The watershed states’ Agriculture secretaries wrote a similar letter to Vilsack last month urging the creation of the CRFI program to help farmers make the remaining 80 percent of pollution cuts required by the Blueprint.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf urged Vilsack to adopt the plan on September 7.

Such programs provide financial and technical support to farmers who want to follow conservation practices but lack the necessary capital or need technical assistance. Many conservation practices also combat climate change and provide benefits to local economies.

An economic report commissioned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) found that the broad economic benefits provided by nature in the Chesapeake Bay watershed will total $130 billion annually when the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint is fully implemented.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Federal Executive Director Denise Stranko issued the following statement:

“The Blueprint deadline is approaching fast and most of the remaining work falls on farmers. The Chesapeake Bay Resilient Farms Initiative (CRFI) is the kind of bold USDA investment plan that will help farmers adopt the conservation practices essential to restoring the Bay and its local rivers and streams.

“CBF is excited to see momentum for the CRFI building among agricultural leaders who represent more than 100,000 farm families across the watershed. We join them in urging Secretary Vilsack to establish this game-changing program to help save the Bay while we still can.

“Congress must do its part as well by increasing long-term funding for USDA conservation programs. CBF is working with Congress to provide the additional agricultural conservation funding necessary to help farmers finish the job.”

CBF Pennsylvania Executive Director Shannon Gority said:

“Pennsylvania is far short of achieving its commitments to reduce pollution by 2025. Increased investments in agricultural conservation practices in Pennsylvania through the Chesapeake Bay Resilient Farms Initiative will help close that gap. It will keep soil and nitrogen on the land instead of polluting local waters, combat climate change, and improve farm productivity.

“Farmers have shown they are willing to invest their time, land, limited funds, and effort to clean and protect local rivers and streams and leave a legacy of healthy soils and clean water. But they need greater investments from both the state and federal governments to finish the job.

“We appreciate the support of this initiative by the farm bureaus in the Bay states and their continued efforts for clean water that is essential to our quality of life, health, and economy.”

For more on Chesapeake Bay-related issues in Pennsylvania, visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation-PA webpage.  Click Here to sign up for Pennsylvania updates (bottom of left column).  Click Here to support their work.

Also visit the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership to learn how you can help clean water grow on trees.

CBF has over 275,000 members in Bay Watershed.

[PA Chesapeake Bay Plan

[For more information on Pennsylvania’s plan, visit DEP’s Chesapeake Bay Office webpage.  Click Here to sign up for regular updates.

[How Clean Is Your Stream?

[DEP’s Interactive Report Viewer allows you to zoom in on your own stream or watershed to find out how clean your stream is or if it has impaired water quality using the latest information in the draft 2020 Water Quality Report.]

Related Articles:

-- Senate/House Return Sept. 20 - Will They Fund Local Flood Prevention, Watershed Restoration, Recreation Projects With Part Of The $5 Billion That’s Laying Around?

-- Gov. Wolf Calls On U.S. Dept. Of Agriculture To Implement $737 Million Chesapeake Bay Resilient Farms Initiative

[Posted: September 20, 2021]

9/26/2021