Eastern Shore Focus - Show # 15: The Farm Bill (Pt 1)

PRINCESS ANNE, MD –

To listen to this show:

Please click on the "Play" icon on the above media player(s).

Show Information:

Show Number: 15
Subject(s): The Farm Bill and CHESSEA (Part 1)
Guest(s): Sen. Ben Cardin, Rep. Gilchrest, Doug Siglin (CBF), and Bill Dennison (UMCES)
Original Airdate: Saturday, May 19, 2007
Approx. Length: 29 minutes

Brief Synopsis:

Congress is gearing up for debate in the coming months over the re-authorization of the US Department of Agriculture's Farm Bill. The Farm Bill gets renewed about every five years or so, and affects just about every aspect of agriculture you can imagine.

But one important aspect the Farm Bill that some lawmakers as well as environmental groups want to see addressed - is the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

Doug Siglin, a director at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, says that his group is pushing lawmakers to consider one aspect of the Farm Bill called CHESSEA. CHESSEA would provide farmers with the tools and incentives to reduce the amount of nutrients that run-off their farms due to rain or seepage into groundwater. Siglin says that this run-off is one of the major reasons the Bay's water quality is suffering.

We'll also talk with Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, and University of Maryland researcher, Bill Dennison.

Part 2 will air in the next week's program.

Additional Links:

Farm bill will impact Delmarva agriculture industry:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wesm/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1084750

Farmers: Conservation-- good, commodity funding cuts bad:
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wesm/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1087769

Questions or Comments?

E-mail us: wesm913@umes.edu

Or call 410-651-8001