Grazing Practices and Water Quality in Pennsylvania Will Improve With NFWF Grant

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Statement from The Chesapeake Bay Foundation:

For Immediate Release
March 31, 2026
For Information Contact:
B.J. Small 717-253-0599 


Grazing Practices and Water Quality
in Pennsylvania Will Improve With NFWF Grant

(HARRISBURG)—A National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) will improve water quality in Pennsylvania and other Bay states by supporting regenerative farm practices like converting row crops to pasture, better livestock grazing, and streamside trees.

The Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant of $939,700, with $267,800 in matching funds, will implement nearly 1,700 acres of agricultural conservation practices, including managed grazing and streamside buffers in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The grant is made from NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund, funded primarily by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Chesapeake Bay Program Office. Additional funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

In Pennsylvania, CBF will collaborate with Capital Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc. to provide educational resources, peer-to-peer technical assistance, field days, and pasture walks in Lancaster, York, Adams, Cumberland, Lebanon, Dauphin, and Franklin counties.

Field days will focus on improving pasture conditions, soil health, and converting row crops to grazing. This leads to less polluted runoff, healthier soils, and reductions in fertilizer use and farm costs, all of which improve the water quality of local streams and the Chesapeake Bay.

Pastures with deep-rooted forage plants are more resilient to extreme weather, like prolonged droughts or torrential rains. Veterinary expenses and cull rates may drop because of fewer foot ailments and other herd health problems, since the livestock are more active and outside with less exposure to pathogens.

Grant funds awarded to CBF for the project will also go toward economic case studies on farms in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, looking at the costs and benefits of shifting to regenerative production systems, like grazing.

Kelly O'Neill, Agriculture Policy Analyst with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in Pennsylvania said:

“For Pennsylvania, this grant means that more farmers will be able to improve their grazing efforts by learning from other farmers and then put them into practice in ways that make sense on their land.

“Federal and state investments in regenerative agriculture are good for farm productivity and improving local water quality by keeping soil and nitrogen on the land instead of running into local waters.

“Regenerative grazing has helped many farmers to balance expenses and income, while improving the quality of farm life by reducing labor and costs. Livestock move frequently through a series of paddocks, allowing the forage plants to recover while the animals are grazing elsewhere.

“Grazing operations generally have lower start-up and maintenance costs than confinement operations. Many livestock producers shifting from confinement operations to grazing can spend more time managing pastures and monitoring herd performance, and less on a tractor.”