Even the briefest research into the health of the Chesapeake Bay shows that the issue is very complex, involving six states and many sectors of society, from farmers in New York to housing developers in Maryland to watermen in Virginia.

Many contend that the runoff from farms, which can include high levels of nitrogen and phosphorous from fertilizers and manure, is having a disastrous effect on the quality of the water in the Bay.

So some have turned to organic farming, which does not rely on chemical fertilizers and tends to work to improve soil and water health. Organic farmers typically also focus on water management and safe environmental practices – all of which can aid in helping the Bay recuperate.

And the states are helping.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recently approved 13 farms for its Path to Organic farming transition program.  These farms range from 13-acre produce farms to 280 acres and include dairy, beef, poultry orchard and vegetable farms.

The program is the first state or privately funded organic transition program of its scope in the country, and has as one of its purposes to evaluate organic  farming practices as ways to improve soil health and protect water quality, according to Pennsylvania State Rep. David Kessler, who helped create the program.

Kessler told a Pottsville, Pa. newspaper that organic methods reduce the amount of nitrogen in local drinking water, reduce the amount of nitrogen going into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and improve air quality.

New York State contains the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and there, too, the agricultural community is changing farming practices to improve the environment. According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, farmers are “emerging as one of the leaders in environmental stewardship.”

One of the farmers highlighted by the NRCS is dairy farmer Kathie Arnold in Cortland, N.Y., who operates a 140-cow dairy farm on some 700 acres of land. The land is on the Tioughnioga River Watershed, which is part of the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed.

In order to improve environmental conditions, Arnold composts the manure produced on the farm, and has a roof water management system to keep clean water. She also built laneways for the cows, and installed a concrete pad in the barnyard’s high-traffic area to prevent the runoff from flowing into the Tioughnioga River – instead the manure is gathered and deposited in a storage pit.

With an increased interest in organic food and produce from local farms, and state-funded incentives, more farmers may be interested in switching to organic farming. It would be interesting to see if there is any way to measure what kind of impact these farms are having on the Bay’s health and if any more incentives are being contemplated