Agriculture Department Releases New Educational Video about Nutrient Trading

ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 12, 2011) – In partnership with the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Nutrient Trading Program, the American Farmland Trust has produced an educational video on the basics of nutrient trading and the specifics of Maryland’s program. The video features both animation and the perspectives of some well-known individuals from various state agencies and organizations in explaining the trading process and the benefits of the program. The video will be shown and distributed to interested parties and is available for viewing on the Nutrient Trading Program website, www.mdnutrienttrading.com.

“We hope this video will educate more people about nutrient trading and help them to understand not only its economic potential, but also the role it can play in meeting the challenges we face in the Bay watershed,” said Secretary of Agriculture Buddy Hance, who makes a cameo appearance in the short film. “Farmers are already familiar with federal and state cost-share programs, and nutrient trading offers an innovative alternative for bringing the private sector to the financing of agricultural practices.”

Nutrient trading is a voluntary option for addressing water quality problems through the buying and selling of nitrogen and phosphorus credits. By implementing conservation practices that reduce nutrient runoff, farmers and landowners can generate tradable credits to sell as offsets in the management of existing loading caps as well as the accommodation of economic and population growth. Nutrient trading provides a new source of revenue for the agricultural community while improving the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

For more information or assistance in participating in the Maryland Nutrient Trading Program, farmers, landowners, and other interested parties should contact their local soil conservation district office or Susan Payne, coordinator of Ecosystem Markets at the MDA Office of Resource Conservation (410-841-5865 or [email protected]).