PA Environment Digest Blog: Alliance For The Chesapeake Bay, Perdue Farms Awarded $1 Million EPA, NFWF Grant To Accelerate Full-Farm Conservation Efforts On Poultry Operations In PA

On October 16, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and Perdue Farms, announced a new initiative to support conservation practice implementation on poultry farms throughout Pennsylvania.

This work is funded by a $1 million Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction grant awarded to the Alliance from EPA and NFWF.

Perdue has also committed $300,000 to the initiative.

“At Perdue, our responsibility as good environmental stewards includes partnering with various stakeholders to preserve and protect our natural resources,” said Drew Getty, vice president of environmental sustainability at Perdue Farms. “This partnership with the Alliance, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, and our farm partners, who are some of the best stewards of the environment, is a great example of collaboration to enhance the quality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”

Perdue poultry farmers have been vocal at annual farmer council meetings, being transparent about their needs and barriers to conservation work.

This project intends to break down one of the greatest barriers by providing financial and technical support to up to 80 of Perdue’s organic poultry farmers in Pennsylvania.

Rather than focusing on improving one aspect of an operation, this project prioritizes full-farm conservation.

This approach considers a full spectrum of solutions to balance environmental concerns while also meeting the operational and economic needs of the farmer.

As part of this project, the funding will provide and leverage cost-share dollars to install approximately 36 conservation practices, such as manure stacking and mortality composting sheds, riparian forest buffers, and vegetative environmental buffers (also known as windbreaks or shelterbelts).

Various additional on-farm conservation work, such as stormwater management, soil health, and crop field practices, will also be a part of this collaboration.

These practices will greatly improve the environmental footprint of Perdue’s supply chain by providing benefits for cleaner water and air, increasing biodiversity, improving animal welfare, and mitigating climate change.

"Perdue is an industry leader in environmental sustainability. Our work will support more farmers in accessing critical technical and financial support for on-farm improvements,” said Brittany Smith, Pennsylvania Agriculture Projects Manager at the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. “We hope to serve as a model for other poultry integrators throughout the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and beyond."

This project is part of the Alliance’s Corporate Sustainability Initiative.

Since 2017, the Alliance has worked alongside agricultural supply chain corporations, like Turkey Hill Dairy, The Hershey Company, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative, Land O’Lakes, and their farm providers to accelerate conservation efforts throughout supply chains in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

This approach allows farms to increase long-term sustainability while elevating environmental standards throughout the agricultural industry.

There are more than 10,000 poultry farms in Pennsylvania, making it one of the top five commodities in PA agriculture.

Lancaster County alone ranks 4th (out of 3,079 counties nationwide) in poultry production.

In comparison, Pennsylvania dairy milk production ranks 10th in the nation.

The volume of farms is significant in targeting specific solutions to increase overall farmer footprints within the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The Alliance is eager to begin working with Perdue Farms to increase accessibility to conservation funding and to support poultry farmers across the watershed.

Follow along at the Alliance’s Corporate Sustainability Initiative webpage.

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-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Begins Accepting MD Conowingo Pay For Success Nutrient, Sediment Reduction Project Proposals Oct. 24 [PaEN]

-- Fish & Boat Commission Now Accepting Applications For Grants To Improve Watersheds In Lancaster, York Counties [PaEN]

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-- Susquehanna Greenway Partnership Now Accepting Applications For 2023 Mini-Grants [PaEN]

-- EPA, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Invest $9.6 Million In Projects To Improve Water Quality In Chesapeake Bay Watershed; $5.6 Million Benefits PA [PaEN]