Fully half of Virginia is drained by Chesapeake Bay rivers, and two-thirds of the state's population lives within the Bay watershed. From the farm fields of the Shenandoah Valley to the pinewoods of the Eastern Shore, for most Virginians the Bay is as close as the nearest creek or stream.

CAMPAIGN FOR THE BAY: AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION PRACTICES

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The Commonwealth of Virginia has made significant progress in recent years to reduce point-source pollution from wastewater treatment plants. Unfortunately Virginia’s waters and the Chesapeake Bay are still plagued with dangerous algae blooms, closed beaches and fish kills which impact the quality of life for all Virginians. Our clean water goals cannot be met without addressing runoff pollution. We need to work with Virginia’s farmers so they can do their part to restore the Bay.

The most effective way for farmers to protect Virginia’s water quality is through the use of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) that reduce soil, fertilizer and animal waste runoff.

Bay region farmers have shown they are ready and willing to use these management tools on their farms; the problem they face is the expense. BMPs can be costly, forcing farmers into debt to be good conservation stewards.

For that reason, Virginia runs a cost-share program through the Department of Conservation and Recreation to help farmers meet the increased financial burden of using BMPs. This program provides financial incentives through cost-share dollars to augment the private funds a farmer uses to implement the conservation practices.

Unfortunately, the cost-share program does not keep pace with farmer interest or with our commitment to reducing runoff pollution. In recent years in Virginia, farmers applying for assistance to one of the largest conservation programs were turned away because of a shortage of funds, leaving undone $10 million in conservation practices.

That’s why CBF’s Virginia Office is committed to addressing this lack of funding. In the 2008 General Assembly session we worked with a statewide coalition of agricultural and conservation organizations to see BMPs fully funded for the next 10 years at $100 million a year. The General Assembly allocated $20 million to the newly created Natural Resources Commitment Fund specifically for agricultural BMPs in fiscal year 2009. The following year, the General Assembly maintained level funding for the program during fiscal year 2010. This partnership of organizations will continue its work to find dedicated and stable funding to reduce runoff from agricultural lands.