Applications Being Accepted for New Farm Bill Conservation Initiative That Benefits Farmers and the Chesapeake Bay

Maryland Media Liaison:

Carol Hollingsworth, 443-482-2902

Annapolis, MD, February 10, 2009 – The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI), created in the new 2008 Farm Bill, will provide additional conservation financial assistance to agricultural producers located within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The CBWI will be used to assist Maryland's agricultural producers to implement conservation practices that reduce the potential of excess nutrients and sediments entering the Chesapeake Bay.

“Maryland will have more funds available for financial and technical assistance this year as a result,” announced Jon Hall, Maryland State Conservationist for USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). ”Even though the new program provisions are still being confirmed, NRCS and local Soil Conservation Districts offices are accepting applications continuously for NRCS program participation. Local farmers and producers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are encouraged to come in and apply as soon as possible. By accepting producer applications now, we can review conservation plans and be well positioned to provide contracts to producers as soon as final decisions are made.”

The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI) was authorized in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill) to provide assistance to producers to minimize excess nutrients and sediments in order to restore, preserve, and protect the Chesapeake Bay. The program offers financial and technical assistance to producers to install practices to help control erosion and nutrient loading before they reach the Bay. CBWI offers assistance to eligible participants to implement a system of core conservation management and structural practices on eligible agricultural land. The core practices include crop residue management, especially no-till and mulch till systems, crop nutrient management, buffers, riparian forest buffers, and streamside fencing to keep livestock out of the streams and water sources. In addition to these conservation practices, NRCS has a collection of other conservation practices that certified conservation planners can design to fit your specific conservation needs.

“The new money available through the Farm Bill's Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative is great news for the Bay and for Maryland farmers. We applaud Maryland’s Congressional delegation and Governor Martin O’Malley for their steadfast efforts to ensure Maryland received this additional funding to implement vital, targeted agricultural conservation practices to help clean up the Bay. We encourage farmers to contact their Soil Conservation District offices and apply as soon as feasible," said Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Roger Richardson.

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is home to nearly 17 million residents and covers more than 64,000 square miles (see map below). It is the largest estuary in the United States and is critical to the region’s economy, culture, and outdoor recreation. Approximately 94 percent of Maryland’s land lies within the watershed. Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed contains 94 percent of all of the state’s agricultural land, 92 percent of all of the state’s forest land in Maryland, and 97 percent of all of the state’s developed land. Portions of five other states and the District of Columbia also lie within the watershed, including: Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware, and New York.

Producers within 94 percent of the state’s land area are eligible to apply for conservation assistance under this new initiative. The attached map identifies land within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and Maryland’s priority subwatershed locations.

"The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative will target much needed funding to farmers to further reduce nutrient and sediment loads before they reach the Bay. This initiative will bring more money to our farmers and focus it in the most important areas of the watershed and on the most effective conservation practices. This program will allow farmers to continue to be an important part of the Bay restoration," said Jeffrey Lape, director of the US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program.

Under the CBWI, some watersheds will be designated as a high priority for funding because they contain high yields of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients, have intense agricultural operations, and have local water quality impairments associated with excess nutrients or dissolved oxygen. In addition, the CBWI has identified the Potomac, Patuxent and the Susquehanna Watersheds as watersheds of special consideration.

Delmarva Poultry Industry, Inc. (DPI), the trade association for chicken growers on Maryland's Eastern Shore, said growers needing a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan to comply with the February 27, 2009 deadline to seek a federal Clean Water Act permit can seek conservation funds from their local NRCS office to help get the plan written. "This money has the potential to help hundreds of Maryland chicken producers be compliant with the EPA regulation," noted DPI Executive Director Bill Satterfield.

Applications requesting financial assistance for all NRCS Conservation Programs are accepted continuously throughout the year. The applications are evaluated, ranked, and prioritized on a monthly basis and qualified applicants selected for funding. The first funding cycle for CBWI and Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) applications will end on April 24, 2009. Approvals for funding requests for qualified applications will be continue to be made on a monthly basis as long as funds are available.

Applications from the designated high priority areas and watersheds of special consideration will receive additional points in the ranking system. Unfunded applications can be retained for up to two years, after which time the producer will need to re-file a new application.

"These additional resources will enhance the work already being done in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, and move us closer to the agricultural goals in Maryland's tributary strategies, said Lee McDaniel, President of the Maryland Association of Soil Conservation Districts (MASCD).

The first step for farmers and producers is to contact their local Soil Conservation District or NRCS office, located at a USDA Service Center. A directory of USDA Service Centers can be found at www.md.nrcs.usda.gov, under Contact Us, Find A Service Center. Application forms and information about the new Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative, and other NRCS conservation programs, are available on the Maryland NRCS Web site at www.md.nrcs.usda.gov/programs.

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