On May 12, 2009, President Obama released an Executive Order on Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration. It identifies the bay as a national treasure and reiterates its importance as “the largest estuary in the United States and one of the largest and most biologically productive estuaries in the world.”

Agriculture is one of the main sources of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the bay, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, but reducing polluted runoff from farms has proved to be a major challenge. Some believe what’s needed are stricter regulations and better financial incentives for farmers, according to a September 2008 report in the Baltimore Sun.

Such financial assistance programs subsidize the cost of what the Maryland Department of Agriculture calls best management systems, farming practices targeted at protecting and improving the environment.

These programs are  addressed in Part Four of President Obama’s executive order, “Agricultural Practices to Protect the Chesapeake Bay,” which focuses on prioritizing watersheds and implementing “…conservation practices that most efficiently reduce nutrient and sediment loads to the Chesapeake Bay.”

Here is a list of the current financial assistance programs available for farmers through the Maryland Department of Agriculture:

1. MACS: grants (covering up to 87.5 percent of cost) to install grassed waterways, natural filtration systems (trees and grasses) and animal waste management systems that reduce soil erosion and protect water sources that feed into the bay
2. CREP: the government essentially rents land from farmers who agree to halt production on sensitive crop or pastureland for 10 to 15 years
3. Cover Crop: pays farmers (by the acre) to plant cover crops that reduce soil erosion and limit nutrient runoff
4. Manure Transport: (intended for animal producers) the government helps farmers pay to have excess manure taken off their farms

The (officially urgent) question facing lawmakers is: What is the most effective way to ensure that collaboration between farmers and legislators leads to a healthier Chesapeake?

Allison Frick