Comment by Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance on the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment draft report date October 2010

Annapolis, MD (October 26, 2010) – The USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project report is Bay-wide, and does not reflect individual state progress. Maryland is the only state that has submitted a plan that was accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and meets the nutrient and sediment targets for the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) “pollution diet.” Based on the fact that EPA has said that our plans to meet the TMDLs are sufficient, we need to better understand the methodologies that USDA used to make its assessment. The State of Maryland and Maryland farmers are leaders in nutrient management and in conservation practices, with some 25 years of conservation programs to provide financial and technical assistance to install best on-farm management practices and 99 percent of farmers with nutrient management plans. The BayStat program developed by Governor Martin O’Malley shows much conservation progress on cropland in Maryland’s portion of the Bay watershed. It also shows the distance all sectors must go to reach Bay goals. The agricultural sector always seeks new science and technology to move forward, such as advances in precision agriculture which can apply the exact amount of nutrient needed by a given crop on a given piece of ground. Current and new technologies included in the watershed implementation plans (WIP) meet EPA’s TMDL requirements. MDA and Maryland farmers stand ready to do more, as all sectors must, to help restore the Chesapeake Bay.

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