Chesapeake Bay Foundation Blog

I'll Get You My Pretty, And Your Little Fish, Too!

Gary Brookins at the Richmond Times-Dispatch has another winner!

With the Green Fund coming up in the Maryland General Assembly special session next week it could just as easily be Maryland afloat.

Right now, legislators have an opportunity to support the Green Fund for clean streams and a healthy Bay. Not surprisingly, there’s a lot of support for it: from environmentalists and watermen to homebuilders, community leaders, and health-care professionals; in fact, 63 percent of Marylanders are willing to pay a $20 annual fee to fund Bay clean-up programs.

It’s a rare moment when opportunity, consensus, and a solution all align at the same time. And we must take advantage of this moment.

As for Virginia, the Commonwealth has made great strides in recent years in funding upgrades to sewage treatment plants. Now the big challenge is reducing runoff pollution, especially from farms. CBF and a coalition of agricultural and conservation groups are calling upon Governor Tim Kaine and the Virginia General Assembly to include $100 million annually for 10 years in the state budget to fund programs that help Virginia farmers reduce runoff. The funding would come from 1/10th of one cent of the current sales tax. If fully funded, the programs could cut 60% of the nitrogen runoff—nearly 12 million pounds a year—needed to meet Bay cleanup goals. This is a huge opportunity to fix one of the biggest pollution problems plaguing Virginia rivers and the Bay.

What do you think? Should cleaning up the Bay be a funding priority?

Five Minutes with Sen. Casey

by Matt Ehrhart, CBF Executive Director, Pennsylvania Office

On Sept. 20th, Doug Siglin, Josh Saks and I had the opportunity to meet with Senator Casey.  We presented him with several hundred postcards, signed by constituents (his and ours), at the Kipona River Festival in Harrisburg.  I've not spent a lot time in DC, so  it's great to have Doug, a seasoned veteran, as a guide for the day.  Doug and I met Josh and Alex, our excellant writer and designated photographer, in the Senate office building and waited until the Senator was ready for us.

The photo op went fast - we may have had five minutes with the Senator.  He was well versed on the Farm Bill and our issues, very eloquent and easy-going.  We did have time to discuss the key issues and how it's so important for him (as a member of the ag committee) to be PA's (and the Bay Region's) champion.  I heard him speak at Ag Progress Days this August so I knew he was charasmatic and a good speaker, but I was a little surprised at down to earth he is and how genuinely interested he was in getting feedback from his constituents and hearing from the folks in PA.

We spoke about the folks who penned the postcards, and the hundreds of others from all walks of life, who have written or called on Farm Bill issues.  He really understands how important this issue is for PA and the Bay.  The agricultural policy set in the Farm Bill will last for the next five years, a time of changing landscapes for the Bay, ag energy issues, water quality, and conservation in general.  To be thrown into a leadership position on such a key peice of legislation - in your first year as a senator - must be empowering...and a bit daunting.

We know we need to redouble our efforts, to reach more people with information on the opportunity the Farm Bill provides.  Please continue your efforts to contact your federal officials and to encourage others to do the same.

Free Range Studio Battles the Farm Bill

Today, Free Range Studios released its latest socially-conscious film in support of changes to the Federal Farm Bill—The Farm Bill Food Battle: The Fight for a Fair Farm Bill! I never cease to be amazed at how these folks can take difficult, convoluted, and sometimes downright dull issues most people think don't affect them, and have so much fun cutting to the chase (no pun intended) and waking us all up.

I'm not embedding the actual video here for a reason—I suggest you bypass YouTube and go straight to the source at http://www.foodbattle.org/. While the video gets you thinking, the website includes the additional facts that really make their arguments solid and make you want to take action.

Raise a glass of organic apple juice to the minds at Free Range!

Maryland Farms and the Health of the Chesapeake Bay

Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast broadcast this interview on July 23. The 2007 Federal Farm Bill may give Chesapeake-area farmers $150 million to prevent runoff into the Bay and its watershed.  Nathan Sterner is joined by Doug Siglin, Federal Affairs Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and US Representative Christopher Van Hollen (D-MD), who worked on the bill in the House of Representatives, to discuss the effects on Maryland farmers and the Chesapeake Bay.
Listen (you will need to scroll down the page to reach this specific broadcast)

Federal Farm Bill Schedule

We now have a schedule for the rest of the House farm bill process. The Nutrition Subcommittee will mark up this Thursday, June 14^th at 10:00am Eastern. The commodity subcommittee will mark up the following Tuesday, June 19^th, also at 10:00am Eastern. And the full committee- where the sparks could very well start to fly- begins consideration of the 2007 farm bill at 10:00am on June 26^th, and will go until the 28^th (at least). Chairman Peterson has also said he has a guarantee for floor time in the House the week of July 16^th. The schedule is here, and you can listen to audio of the hearings here.  (Thank you Blog for Rural America)

Influencing the Farm Bill

In its latest newsletter, the Center for Rural Affairs reminds us that "each of us who cares about rural America has a responsibility to help shape the outcome" of the federal farm bill. Read their essay about influencing the farm bill, then find out more about what you can do to help Bay-area farmers.

Farm Bill Politics Gaining Mainstream Traction

If you're looking for information about the Farm Bill, check out the Blog for Rural America and its latest post that the internet has resulted in the Farm Bill being written about, bantered about, and ultimately paid attention to by a lot more people than ever before.

Why the booming interest?

Brian Depew offers this quote from Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), who is on a campaign to make his case to a larger non-farm, non-rural community:

Why devote the time and effort to reform U.S. farm policy, you ask?

Here is an area that doesn't just touch rural America but has profound effects for small towns, suburban communities and bigger cities across the country as well.

It impacts the people working hard to produce the food we eat each day. Sixty percent of America's farmers and ranchers get no support while a great bulk of subsidies and federal support go directly to big special-interest corporations. [snip]

It impacts energy and the environment, affecting water quality and our landscape. Farming is the dominant water user in the United States and farms have room to be a greater generator of energy, not just a huge consumer. [snip]

It impacts our trade policy and how we are viewed in the world. [snip]

We're with Depew on this -- "No matter where you stand in the farm bill debate, I would argue that more transparency, and more people paying attention to this important legislation is ultimately a good thing."

New Farm Bill Funding Initiative Launched

Today at 12:15 pm, on the terrace of the Cannon House Building in Washington, D.C., a historic piece of legislation was announced.

Representatives Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), Wayne Gilchrest (R-MD), and Tom Davis (R-VA) introduced the Chesapeake’s Healthy and Environmentally Sound Stewardship of Energy and Agriculture Act of 2007 (CHESSEA).

Read more about CHESSEA

What have we been doing for 19 years?

An article in today's Washington Post includes the following quote from J. Charles Fox, a former head of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources about efforts over the past 19 years to clean up the Chesapeake Bay:

"We have done a truly tremendous job of defining the problem, and we have done a truly tremendous job of defining the solution. But we have not yet succeeded in actually implementing the solution."

National and local legislators throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed will be tackling tough questions during this session. Keep David Fahrenthold's article in mind when the time comes to decide what efforts need your support.

More from the Washington Post:

• A picture is worth a thousand words. What will you do to protect the beauty of the Bay?
• Staggering amounts of work and funding are still needed.

Farmers Can't Do It Alone

Did you know that Bay-state farmers receive only 4 cents per dollar of agricultural product produced, compared with a national average of 9 cents -- and farmers in North Dakota received a whopping 23 cents (average payments 2000-05)?

There's a lot more interesting information in CBF Federal Affairs Director Doug Siglin's column on reauthorization of the federal farm bill in the January 21, 2007 Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In his column, Siglin urges the feds to "do what's right for conservation, farmers:"

"The time to push for conservation funding for the region's farm families is now. If that funding is not included in the 2007 farm bill, it is highly unlikely that the agricultural conservation practices called for in the Tributary Strategies will be fully implemented, and the Bay and its rivers will continue to suffer from the politics of postponement."