In general | Who’s eligible? | Environmental issues | Above and beyond | Download application form (PDF) | 2005 report (PDF) | 2006 report (PDF)
About the awards - The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is proud to sponsor the Clean Water Farm Award and Bay Friendly Farm Award. Virginia farmers who implement nutrient management plans and are exemplary in their protection of the state’s soil and water quality deserve recognition and thanks. These individuals are role models who encourage others’ stewardship.
Farmers spend time, energy and hard-earned money carrying out conservation practices that benefit many people. They themselves benefit because nutrients, pesticides and chemicals they invest in stay on the land – where they’re most productive. The soil necessary to grow crops also stays put because of conservation planting techniques. When these potential pollutants are kept out of surface and ground waters, citizens benefit by having better water for drinking, recreation, industry, wildlife and transportation.
The winners are . . . If you are a farmer following all recommendations in your custom, site-specific nutrient management plan, you can be nominated to receive the Clean Water Farm Award or Bay Friendly Farm Award. The former is for farms located in areas of Virginia outside the Chesapeake Bay watershed; the latter is given to farms where conservation measures positively impact the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay.
Anyone may nominate a farmer or farm for a Clean Water Farm Award and Bay Friendly Farm Award. Simply contact a local soil and water conservation district for assistance completing an application. Virginia’s 47 soil and water conservation districts decide local winners, who can represent any of the 94 counties and 16 cities SWCDs comprise. If you win, you will receive a certificate signed by the governor and a sign to display proudly at your farm.Previous Clean Water Farm Award local and state winners are eligible; you can win the award more than once.
Considering our environment - Overuse of nutrients or using them at improper times, as well as soil loss, creates water quality problems in Virginia and for the Chesapeake Bay. It’s important to manage nutrients that are in commercial fertilizer or manure for our environment. Maintaining adequate distances from wells, streams and wetlands, and limiting applications on lands with high water tables and on soils with a high potential for leaching to the groundwater are part of a complete nutrient management program. Controlling erosion, maintaining well-vegetated buffer areas and choosing the right crop for the soil are all techniques that help protect water quality.
Nutrient management has proven profitable for many Virginia agricultural producers. These producers work with Department of Conservation and Recreation technical specialists and other agency personnel to determine site-specific, customized methods of reducing potential pollutants that rain might carry off their fields. The results are usually more efficient production and improved quality in nearby waters.
Manufacturing and processing plants, in many cases, are required to spend millions of dollars each year to recycle wastes, control emissions, conserve energy and properly treat water so that it leaves facilities clean or cleaner than before it got there. In Virginia, farmers voluntarily incorporate nutrient management and other environmental safeguards within agriculture operations as their contribution toward protecting water quality for citizens throughout the commonwealth.
Above and beyond . . . Above and beyond the local award, one farmer or farm from each of Virginia’s 10 major river basins is chosen for outstanding management to improve water quality. These 10 winners receive an additional award presented at a special recognition ceremony.
Click here to download the award application form in PDF format. To use this document, you’ll need the free Adobe Acrobat reader (version 4.0 or better works best).
