The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts Inc. this week announced three Central Pennsylvania farms will receive the 2008 Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Farm Award.

The winners include The Car-Wood Farm in Boiling Springs, William Hess Farms in Stillwater and Smith Hollow Farms in Martinsburg who will be formally recognized July 29 in State College during PACD’s annual conservation awards program.

To further acknowledge their accomplishments, the landowners will receive certificates and large “Clean Water Farm Award” signs to erect on their property.

The Clean Water Farm Award, initiated in 1986, recognizes farmers within Pennsylvania’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed who manage their daily farm operation while keeping a watchful eye on water quality. The farms’ conservation plans address issues that help control potential pollutants such as eroded soil, pesticides, and fertilizers from entering streams or groundwater supplies.

Car-Wood Farm, a beef and cropland operation, is owned by Charles Carothers III. The Cumberland County Conservation District nominated this “good steward of the land” for the award. Carothers implements numerous Best Management Practices (BMPs), a combination of practices determined to be the most effective, practical means of reducing pollution. For example, this farm uses rotational grazing, fencing, and established animal trails and walkways to reduce soil erosion. The farm has a long tradition of conservation and Carothers goes out of his way to protect water quality in an area impacted by mounting development pressure.

William Hess Farms, a dairy farm, was nominated for the award by the Columbia County Conservation District. The operators, William and Steve Hess and Pam and Ray Tucker, implement a diversity of BMPs to continuously improve their farm. The established practices include construction of a wetland and filter area to treat waste water. The wetland and filter area absorb and treat the waste, removing the potentially harmful nutrients from entering waterways. William Hess Farms also installed stream crossings, fencing, and planted buffers to protect a two and one-half miles of stream which eventually flows into the Chesapeake Bay.

Smith Hollow Farms, a dairy operation, was nominated for the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Farm Award by Blair County Conservation District. The Smiths implemented many conservation practices on their farms including installation of a manure storage facility, roof runoff system, streambank fencing, walkways, and crossings to reduce the amount of potentially damaging nutrients from entering a stream. Other stream protection efforts include planting a buffer of trees and grass to stabilize the streambanks and provide food and habitat for animals.

Recipients of the annual Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Farm Award are nominated by county conservation district staff. This annual award program is coordinated by the Pennsylvania

The awards are sponsored jointly by the DEP's Chesapeake Bay Program and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to recognize farmers who implement Best Management Practices. The Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Education Office conducts numerous activities promoting the theme, “We All Live Downstream.”

For more information, visit the PACD website.

4/4/2008