Virginia farmers will receive new support for sustainable agriculture practices following a recent grant awarded to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, according to an April 16 announcement. The funding aims to help farmers implement techniques such as rotational grazing and virtual fence collars, which are designed to improve farm profitability and protect water quality.
The initiative is intended to promote regenerative agriculture that benefits both farmland and local waterways. Practices funded by the grant include rotational grazing, creation of streamside buffers, and use of technology like virtual fence collars. These measures can help reduce pollution entering rivers and streams that ultimately flow into the Chesapeake Bay.
“This grant will fund conservation solutions that can make farmers’ land more profitable, more resilient, and more Bay-friendly,” said Matt Kowalski, Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Watershed Restoration Scientist. “We’ll help farmers of all skill levels in Virginia and across the Bay watershed experiment with new sustainable practices like rotational grazing, buffers, and row crop conversion.”
The approximately $1 million grant comes from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Chesapeake Small Watershed Grants Program with major funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The program also supports educational efforts such as newsletters, field days, agricultural conferences on grazing management, planting trees along streams for erosion control and wildlife habitat improvement, as well as providing planners who offer seasonal land management advice.
Matt Booher of the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council said: “With these schools and the planner, we’re really building a community of people who are knowledgeable about growing healthy food and are devoted to protecting the environment.” As part of this effort, a grazing school is scheduled in Madison County on May 12-13.
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation Virginia Office promotes cultural well-being through seven outdoor environmental education programs statewide—including student leadership initiatives—according to its official website. It utilizes facilities in Richmond and Hampton Roads along with oyster restoration sites in Gloucester County and Virginia Beach. The office works across Virginia with field staff based in Charlottesville, Shenandoah Valley, Eastern Shore areas—and partners with communities for events like Clean the Bay Day according to its official website.
Kowalski said: “Whether you’re a soybean farmer in the Shenandoah Valley or you’re managing livestock in Loudoun County, CBF and partners like the Virginia Forage and Grassland Council stand ready to help farmers develop sustainable practices that will benefit residents throughout the Commonwealth and beyond.”
Broader efforts funded by this grant extend into Maryland, Pennsylvania,and West Virginia for nearly 1,700 acres of conservation practices.
