Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Chesapeake Bay load limits alarm growers

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Crop and livestock producers alike in six states are waiting for the fallout from a court decision enforcing a "Total Maximum Daily Load" (TMDL) of nutrients into Chesapeake Bay.

In September, U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia Rambo ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency was within its authority to work with six states in setting and enforcing standards on nutrients in rivers draining into Chesapeake, the nation's largest estuary, according to Associated Press.

The bay drains a 64,000-square-mile watershed encompassing parts of the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Delaware. It includes the Susquehanna River, the 16th largest watershed in the United States, which has its source at Cooperstown in upstate New York, 750 kilometres upstream.

The TMDL sets watershed limits of 185.9 million pounds of nitrogen, 12.5 million pounds of phosphorus and 6.45 billion pounds of sediment per year. Seems like a lot, but the limits are 25, 24 and 20 per cent lower than current levels. At press time, the National Corn Growers Association, one farm organization that had opposed the limits, has filed an appeal. "We continue to believe the Chesapeake Bay TMDL goes beyond the scope of Clean Water Act authority and has a negative impact on agricultural production and innovation," says an association press release. "The policy and science behind the Chesapeake Bay TMDL are wrong."

Other opponents included The Fertilizer Institute and national organizations representing pork, chicken, poultry, and egg and turkey producers. Delaware, Maryland and Virginia constitute a major poultry-producing area. BF

Current Issue

March 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Farmer Planting Decisions for 2025 Taking Shape

Thursday, March 13, 2025

As farmers across Canada prepare for the 2025 crop year, Statistics Canada says their planting decisions reflect a complex mix of factors including moisture conditions, crop rotation considerations, and market prices. Nationally, farmers are expected to plant more wheat, corn for... Read this article online

Grain Growers of Sounding the Alarm Over U.S. Tariffs

Monday, March 10, 2025

Not surprisingly, the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) is raising concerns over the United States' decision to impose a 25% tariff on Canadian grain and grain products, a move that could jeopardize the livelihoods of family-run grain farms and lead to higher food prices for American... Read this article online

International Women’s Day – Angela Cammaert

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

As International Women’s Day approaches on March 8, Farms.com is asking women in ag about what they’d tell their younger selves about being a farmer, to give a piece of advice to young women entering the ag sector, and to highlight a woman in agriculture they consider a mentor or... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top