Sustainable Ag Tuesdays are free and open to the public.
The Chesapeake Bay area needs sustainable farmers, and those farmers need the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). That was part of the CBF’s message to the audience attending the first Sustainable Agriculture Tuesday talk of 2016. The theme of sustainable agriculture – and the strong need for it throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed – was echoed by Rob Schnabel, the CBF watershed restoration scientist who delivered the Tuesday talk. He kicked off this semester’s weekly lecture series that features sustainability experts discussing a wide range of topics.
Schnabel, a College Park native, highlighted agricultural census details that tell the tale of a watershed in crisis. He described how the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers suffer from pollution in spite of the Clean Water Act, a federal law enacted decades ago to protect such areas. The bay is home to the country’s largest estuary, and the eponymous watershed stretches through Maryland as well as five neighboring states and the District of Columbia.
Schnabel described a legal tug-of-war involving the CBF, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the federal government. At issue has been whether the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to enforce certain aspects of the Clean Water Act. A legal victory this week for the EPA is certainly a boost for the CBF and its allies, but the CBF’s efforts toward sustainability lie beyond the country’s courts. Those efforts also stretch into farmers’ fields.
Schnabel spoke to the need for more united support of both farmers and the health of the Bay. He pointed to a trend in recent years of farm animal populations rising while the number of farms has been shrinking. The result has been increasing amounts of manure to handle and – according to the CBF – a growing need for agricultural businesses in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to make strides toward agricultural sustainability. Yet in order to do so, those businesses benefit from and deserve assistance.
Case in point: the CBF encourages dairy farmers to convert their corn fields to pasture fields. Schnabel juxtaposed the environmental disadvantages of growing corn for cattle feed with the advantages of growing grass for grazing. He said Maryland’s Frederick and Washington counties alone have 23,000 acres of corn silage (all of which goes to cattle). But by opting for more grazing and less confinement, he added, dairy farms can reduce ammonia emissions, sediment erosion, and phosphorus runoff.
The benefits of grazing operations go beyond the soil. According to the Mountains-to-Bay Grazing Alliance (which includes the CBF), raising cows on grass instead of corn also reduces costs and produces healthier animals. Converting to a grazing dairy can be easier said than done, however. That’s why the CBF provides several incentives.
Schnabel’s organization will help pair farmers with grazing mentors – experienced grazing producers – to ease the transition to a grass-fed cattle operation. The CBF also provides financial management advice to help transitioning farms remain profitable. Moreover, the CBF connects grazing farmers with marketing specialists who can help sell the farm’s products.
Schnabel encourages farmers interested in practicing more sustainable agriculture to take advantage of the CBF’s resources. For more information, visit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation website. And to find out what other topics and experts will be featured on upcoming Sustainable Ag Tuesdays at the IAA, check out our schedule.
