Until very recently, the lack of funding was the major obstacle to implement agricultural conservation practices necessary to reduce pollution in local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay. Now that some of the needed funding is available, CBF is challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture and governors of the bay states to see that the funding is used to effectively reduce pollution.
Are we done? No, but it's a great start. And it's not just about the money.
The CBF staff continues to work with farmers across the watershed. In all three states, we are providing technical support to dairy farmers on pilot projects to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus in dairy feed. This reduces costs to the farmer and results in manure nitrogen pollution reductions of 30 percent to 50 percent and phosphorus pollution reductions of 40 percent to 60 percent.
In Pennsylvania, CBF has worked with farmers to plant more than 2,000 miles of pollution-trapping buffers. In Maryland, the staff is working with farmers to implement innovative practices, from aerial seeding of cover crops to rotational grass-fed grazing and farmer-to-farmer mentoring programs, all designed to reduce farm runoff.
And in Virginia, CBF is working with the Waste Solutions Forum to fund the demonstration of a portable pyrolysis unit that can travel from farm to farm and convert excess poultry litter to renewable bio-oil and a sterilized, light-weight, slow-release fertilizer. Just this month, the newly constructed pyrolysis unit, the first of its kind, arrived in the Shenandoah Valley, and it is being evaluated by Virginia Tech's scientist and engineers. When the project is fully implemented, we expect to convert at least 100,000 tons of litter per year, removing approximately 5 million pounds of phosphorus pollution and 5 million pounds of nitrogen pollution from the bay watershed.
Some would suggest a more adversarial approach to reducing agricultural pollution. We believe a partnership with the farming community is more productive.
The goal is improved water quality. With recent investments in agricultural conservation practices, combined with investments in reducing pollution from sewage treatment plants and air, saving the bay may soon be a model of success.
William C. Baker is president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
