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The largest used equipment inventory in the Mid-Atlantic is only a click away. Visit our website by clicking here or visit us at one of our 11 locations throughout MD, DE, VA and PA.
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Maryland Ag. Commision up to task
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The largest used equipment inventory in the Mid-Atlantic is only a click away. Visit our website by clicking here or visit us at one of our 11 locations throughout MD, DE, VA and PA.
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Maryland Ag. Commision up to task
11.15.05
Editor’s Note – The following is the text of a press release from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation sent to the media in advance of a health report on the bay made public yesterday, Monday. Nov. 14)
With thousands of miles of rivers and streams still impaired by pollution, another summer “dead zone” for the record books, and fish consumption advisories in place throughout the watershed due to toxic contamination, it should come as no surprise that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) State of the Bay Report (released Monday), grades the health of the Bay a “D.” The health index rating of 27 is unchanged for the third year in a row, and has actually declined since our elected officials committed to a 10--year restoration plan five years ago.
“Today, more than halfway to the 2010 target date, instead of seeing significantly improved water quality we have a bay that is dangerously
out of balance, and in critical condition,” said CBF President William C. Baker. “Science has determined that successful, large-scale restoration of the bay and its rivers is possible, but only if plans are funded, implemented, and enforced. Our elected officials must act boldly, and they must act now.”
Well managed agricultural land provides many more environmental benefits than developed land. However, farm families are being squeezed, with expenses rising faster than income. Techniques and technologies that reduce polluted runoff from agriculture have been demonstrated to be effective, but farmers cannot shoulder the costs of implementation alone.
“We do not have a problem in need of a solution, but rather a problem with solutions which need to be funded,” Baker said. “By implementing the agricultural practices that have already been identified, bay scientists estimate we could achieve nearly two-thirds of the reduction in nitrogen and phosphorus pollution necessary to restore the Chesapeake Bay.”
In Maryland, CBF is calling for the state to invest at least $120 million annually in agriculture — additional funding equivalent to less than 1 percent of the state budget — to help farmers implement proven practices for reducing pollution while also helping to ensure the future profitability of farming. The investment would be distributed across six areas: cover crops, alternative crops, buffers and wetlands, manure management, technical assistance, and farmland preservation.
“These funds could provide a win-win-win for the environment, the bay, and the agricultural community,” said Kim Coble, Maryland executive director. “It is an investment in Maryland’s environmental and farming legacy and in our quality of life.”
CBF is also calling for two policy initiatives in Maryland: First, CBF recommends funding the proposed Priority Preservation Areas (PPAs). PPAs focus agricultural preservation on the most productive farmland, maximizing the state’s investment and offering the best long-term environmental and economic protection from the investment. But in order for PPAs to succeed, it will be necessary to create enabling legislation. Second, because the profitability of farming is under a constant threat, CBF calls for a blue-ribbon task force to study the current tax structure regarding farming and farmland and to identify appropriate reform legislation for the 2007 legislative session that would provide tax credits and incentives to ensure farmers continue to farm.