Pennsylvania Farm Bureau hosted EPA Region 3 Administrator Adam Ortiz and members of his staff for a discussion on continuing to advance our shared commitment to improving local Pennsylvania water quality and, by extension, the health of the Chesapeake Bay on Thursday in Camp Hill.
Farm Bureau leaders and staff spoke about efforts to secure critical funding to help farmers expand their installation of conservation practices in the Bay watershed, stressed the importance of making sure farmers are credited for all practices implemented (especially those installed at a farmer’s own expense, which can be easily overlooked) in the coming update to the Chesapeake Bay Program’s computer model of the Bay watershed and pledged continued action on both fronts.
Ortiz and his colleagues stressed the importance of their partnership with Farm Bureau, praised the hard work that Pennsylvania farmers have already put into improving local water quality, and expressed that they will continue to press Pennsylvania state officials to increase the resources available to farmers for water quality projects.
The event concluded with a press conference featuring Administrator Ortiz and Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Rick Ebert.