CBF Helps Maryland Farmers Get Resiliency Boost Through Federal Grant

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and Maryland farmers will plant thousands of trees and improve hundreds of acres of grazing pastures for cleaner rivers and streams, and more resilient farm businesses, thanks to a recent grant.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)’s  Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant totaling $939,700, plus $267,800 in matching funds, will implement regenerative agricultural practices on nearly 1,700 acres, including managed livestock grazing and streamside forest buffers, across Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.

The grant from NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund is funded primarily by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Chesapeake Bay Program Office. Additional funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.  The Fund helps farmers reduce their pollution ‘footprint’ by implementing farm conservation plans that reduce agricultural runoff, the largest contributor of nutrient pollution in Maryland.

In Maryland, CBF and farmers will use this funding to implement regenerative agriculture practices on farms across the state, including:

• Adding 500 acres of rotational grazing of livestock, which diversifies pastures to restore the soils’ “sponge,” resulting in better water infiltration and retention and making farms more resilient to droughts and intense weather associated with climate change;
• Creating 26 acres of silvopasture—adding trees throughout livestock grazing pastures to keep animals cool with shade, which is critical for animal health and reproductive success;
• Planting an additional 10 acres of forested streamside buffers, which are an effective way to absorb water, prevent flooding, and reduce pollution from running off of farms into local waterways.

The grant will also fund two economic studies on Maryland farms to assess how regenerative farming can improve a farm’s resilience and profitability. The studies will compare grazing dairy operations to more conventional, corn-based confinement dairy farms, as well as row crop farms (corn and soybean) that use regenerative farming versus those that do not.

Additionally, the grant will support several on-farm educational events that will equip farmers with tools to improve farm resiliency and soil health. By using less fertilizer, farmers can improve profitability and the community benefits of cool, clean local streams and Chesapeake Bay.

Grant funds awarded to CBF for the project will also support work on farms in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

CBF Maryland Watershed Restoration Scientist Rob Schnabel issued the following statement:

“Regenerative agriculture works with nature, leading to healthier streams and increased biodiversity, and helping Maryland farmers reduce costly fertilizer use. Currently only half of Maryland farms are profitable, and challenges with extreme weather, droughts, and floods are continuing to erode farmers’ bottom line. This NFWF funding will allow us to demonstrate the economic, ecosystem, and community benefits of regenerative farming as we implement these systems on farms across the state.”