Chesapeake Bay

“As of 2015, an estimated 18,091,710 people lived in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, up from 17,986,898 in 2014. Experts predict the watershed’s population will surpass 20 million by 2030 and reach 21.4 million by 2040. Each of the 18.1 million people that live in the region affects the Bay: consuming...

For small food businesses – like Cowbell Kitchen – selling at farmers markets offers opportunities to expand menu offerings and grow their customer base. Cowbell Kitchen founder Cheryl Strasser started in 2012 as a two-person team selling biscuit sandwiches out of a 5x8-food trailer. After selling...

A vibrant and healthy agriculture sector is a critical component of restoring and improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay, and I’m proud of the steps that our Bay-area agricultural producers are taking to protect this national treasure. Agricultural producers have implemented nearly $1 billion...

“Who better to share the benefits of intensive rotational grazing than farmers who are actually doing it on their lands?” asked Beth L. McGee, Chesapeake Bay Foundation Senior Regional Water Quality Scientist. Intensive grazing systems, a type of rotational grazing that uses higher per acre stocking...

The White House recently recognized 12 Champions of Change for their leadership in sustainable and climate-smart agriculture. This week we will meet them through their USDA Regional Climate Hub, today featuring the Northeast’s Anita Adalja, Herman “Trey” Hill and Jennifer “Jiff” Martin. USDA’s...

A free computer-based toolset developed by USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists was launched this month. The toolset can help conservation planners, landowners and researchers better manage watershed runoff, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, while also supporting agricultural...

At the English farm in York County, Pennsylvania, you’ll find a comfortable streamside setting that includes a babbling brook, clear water, singing birds, and a thriving young stand of trees -- all nestled in a productive cropland setting. However, this wasn’t always the case. Don English, the son...

Producing high quality, nutritious milk may be a top priority for Coldsprings Farm, but it is not the farm’s only accomplishment. Nestled between the rolling acres and lush green meadows of New Windsor, Maryland, lies a showcase of a dairy farm where owners Matt and Debbie Hoff are working with USDA...

This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio. When it rains it pours. Whether we get a passing shower or a day-long downpour, the runoff ends up in rivers, streams and...

Situated on two different continents and separated by thousands of miles, the Chesapeake Bay on the East Coast of the United States and the Baltic Sea in northern Europe face remarkably similar problems. Both are relatively shallow basins of brackish water. Both marine areas suffer from...