1.
Collaboration for Progress Suzy Friedman, Regional Director for the Chesapeake Bay EDF

2.
Getting to a Clean Bay <ul><li>Agriculture is a critical sector for water quality </li></ul><ul><li>Cannot get to a clean Bay without collaboration between conservation groups and agricultural organizations/farmers </li></ul><ul><li>Need both carrot and the stick, but no set of regulations can get the whole job done </li></ul><ul><li>Significant and critical opportunities for real change and impact through partnerships </li></ul>

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Keys to Effective Partnership <ul><li>Recognition of each other’s goals and needs </li></ul><ul><li>Recognition of the importance of science and economics </li></ul><ul><li>Recognition that there is no one size fits all in agriculture </li></ul><ul><li>Recognition that farmers often are operating at very small profit margins </li></ul>

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Collaboration: VA Waste Solutions Forum <ul><li>Diversity of partners </li></ul><ul><li>Ongoing collaboration to identify and implement economically viable solutions to animal ag nutrient challenges in the Valley. </li></ul><ul><li>Has pulled in more than $5 million in project grant funds </li></ul><ul><li>Going strong after 5 years </li></ul><ul><li>www.vawsf.com </li></ul>

5.
VA WSF – On The Ground <ul><li>Partners meet as full committee 3x/year, various issue-specific subcommittees </li></ul><ul><li>Develop and implement projects together – feed management, manure to energy technologies, composting, no till, stream fencing, communications about agriculture, nutrient management, much more </li></ul><ul><li>Open to any partner who wants to work collaboratively, engage on the ground </li></ul>

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Project: On-Farm Network <ul><li>Goal – improve impact and farmer engagement in nutrient management </li></ul><ul><li>Strategy: Information is power –adaptive management </li></ul><ul><li>Work with farmers to gather better information about crop nutrient needs/status, use that information to fine tune management and improve efficiency </li></ul><ul><li>Heavy focus on farmer engagement, driven by science </li></ul><ul><li>Economics front and center </li></ul><ul><li>Connect with farmers’ trusted advisors, public and private </li></ul>

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On-Farm Network – Results <ul><li>Many partners – EDF, grower organizations, extension, conservation districts, crop consultants, NRCS, state agencies </li></ul><ul><li>Modeled on Iowa Soybean Association OFN </li></ul><ul><li>80% of participating farmers change their behavior, avg N reduction of 20-25 lbs/acre without reducing yields </li></ul><ul><li>In 2009, 266 farmers who collectively manage almost 270,000 acres in PA, VA, NC, and OH </li></ul>

8.
Project: Adaptive Stream Fencing <ul><li>Problem – getting animals out of the streams </li></ul><ul><li>Problem – 35’ buffer width required of many fed/state programs takes too much land out of production for some farms </li></ul><ul><li>Partnership initiative – flexible </li></ul><ul><li>fencing program – HUGE success </li></ul><ul><li>Resulted in new offerings by </li></ul><ul><li>fed/state programs </li></ul>

9.
Getting to collaboration – open mindedness <ul><li>Too often, wall of suspicion between ag and environmental community </li></ul><ul><li>Too often, assume other’s intentions are harmful </li></ul><ul><li>Real need to sit down together, better understand the “other side” </li></ul><ul><li>Need recognize BOTH environmental restoration needs/goals of conservation community AND economic viability needs/goals of farmers </li></ul><ul><li>Won’t always be successful, but worth a try </li></ul>

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Getting Involved <ul><li>Get involved in State Technical Committees – Advisory groups to NRCS leadership at the state level </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Provide input on priorities, management of programs and use of funding </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Advociate for more agricultural conservation funding – federal (Farm Bill) and state levels (ag cost share programs) </li></ul>

11.
Suzy Friedman Regional Director for the Chesapeake Bay EDF [email_address]