The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski joined 62 of their colleagues in a bipartisan vote to pass the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 (the Farm Bill). The Farm Bill provides much needed funding to reduce sediment and nutrient pollution to the Chesapeake Bay by providing programs that help farmers implement conservation practices on their farms. The Farm Bill also represents the nation’s largest investment in private lands conservation and passage of a Farm Bill with strong Conservation and Forestry titles by the full Congress remains a top priority for The Nature Conservancy in 2012.

Nat Williams, MD State Director, said “Senator Cardin and Mikulski have continued their long standing commitment to the Chesapeake Bay through passage of the Farm Bill. Assuring the farm community in Maryland and across the watershed access to many important conservation programs will provide water quality protection, forest health, wetland conservation and restoration, and agricultural land protection. Because of the multi-faceted aspects of the Farm Bill, the bill’s passage matters not only to agricultural interests, but to all Marylanders, and I applaud the Senate’s vote today.”

“Now that the Senate has acted, I join my colleagues and conservation partners in urging the House of Representatives to hold the line on funding for the Conservation Title as it develops its own version of the Farm Bill. We look forward to continuing to work our Maryland Representatives in the coming weeks as the take up the bill.”