Congressional Staff Tour Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Regenerative Farm in Maryland
Legislative Visitors Saw Firsthand How Climate-Smart Farming Practices Benefit Clean Water and Local Communities
Today, staff from federal legislative offices in Maryland and Virginia joined the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) on a tour of the nonprofit’s 283-acre Clagett Farm, a working regenerative farm in Upper Marlboro. On the farm tour, attendees experienced how regenerative agriculture, often supported by federal programs, can improve soil health and climate resilience, reduce pollution entering rivers and streams, and support local food production.
“There’s a clear connection between what happens on the land and what ends up in our waterways,” said CBF’s Clagett Farm Program Manager Thomas Arminio. “Regenerative farming is one of the most effective ways that we can improve our land’s resilience and reduce the need for costly fertilizers that run off into the Bay when it rains.”
Representatives from the offices of Senator Chris Van Hollen, Senator Angela Alsobrooks, and Congressman Don Beyer, as well as staff from the Chesapeake Bay Commission, joined the tour. Attendees got to see several regenerative farming techniques in action, including rotational grazing of cattle that introduces natural fertilizers to the soil, and cover crops planted to build soil health and reduce erosion.
Visitors saw CBF’s tree nursery, which produces thousands of tree saplings each year that get planted across the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed. They also viewed Clagett Farm’s rainfall simulator, which demonstrates how well different surfaces (from cover crops to hard pavement) retain water, dirt, and nutrient pollution when it rains.
Federal programs like the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grants and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program funnel money directly to farmers and landowners to implement these regenerative practices on their own land.
“Federal programs are critical to supporting farmers and reducing agricultural pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” said CBF’s Senior Policy Director Keisha Sedlacek. “Not only do they help farms reduce pollution, but they also make farmland more sustainable and profitable. We urge Congress to continue supporting these programs and their multi-faceted benefits.”
CBF has owned and operated Clagett Farm for nearly 45 years, using the landscape to demonstrate regenerative farming practices to educate government leaders, farmers, and students. In addition to being a teaching farm, Clagett is a working farm that provides fresh produce, meat, and honey to community members through its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and partnerships with local food banks.
