Pilot Projects

CBFN employs a unique process to help farmers implement conservation practices.  The projects are carefully selected using a partnership of scientists, agricultural and community organizations with the goal of making the projects transferable to other areas and, ultimately, to be sustainable.

Building lasting partnerships

In 2006, CBFN launched its first 3 pilot programs:

- Partnerships in Lebanon County Pennsylvania are being formed that engage champion farmers to mentor other farmers on how to improve their farm operations, increase their profits, and protect water quality through practicing "No Till" conservation, a state Park the Plow initiative.

- Warwick Township, Pennsylvania is reaching out to assist its farmers with conservation practices. Working with the Lancaster County Soil Conservation District, the Township is committed to implementing conservation plans that will reduce the amount of nutrients and sediment flowing into the local streams and the Susquehanna.

- Virginia's Shenandoah Valley pilot creates partnerships in two counties, one with a large Mennonite community. Farmers will be assisted in designing their own solutions through a "flexible fencing and grazing management" project, designed to keep animals such as dairy cows out of streambeds.

The Chesapeake Bay Funders Network launches a farmer mentoring program

In, the CBFN launched a new program that helps improve the economic productivity of local farms and reduces pollution flowing into the Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Funders Network’s $425,000 contribution over three years establishes a first-of-its-kind Maryland farmer to farmer mentoring program to promote the economic and environmental benefits of an innovative agricultural practice called rotational grazing.

The newly established Maryland Grazer’s Network will help innovative farmers spread Bay-friendly farming practices among their peers while bringing healthy, grass-fed livestock to restaurants and local residents.  To learn more about this new program, click here.