Sustainable Agriculture

Since the mid-1970s, TNC has been working on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to protect some of the state’s most iconic habitats. During that time, TNC built a reputation of trust and respect with local farming communities.

Working with Farmers to Transform Agriculture

The world’s population is growing, and so is the demand for food. Over the past century, agriculture has become the dominant land use and largest source of freshwater pollution across the globe and here in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

Despite the fact that the human population in the region has more than doubled in the past 50 years, water quality in the Bay has actually improved. How have farmers contributed to this great success story? The answer is regenerative agriculture.

This method of food production incorporates practices that improve biodiversity, water quality and climate resiliency on farmland. The Nature Conservancy, in collaboration with the Delaware Maryland Agribusiness Association and U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with over 30 other NGO, government and private partners formed the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) in 2014 to support farmers, landowners and agribusinesses across Delmarva in the implementation of regenerative agriculture practices. A first of its kind, the partnership achieved incredible results before it concluded in 2020.

Pocomoke Restoration: Freeing a Trapped River

The RCPP also helped permanently protect and restore more than 2,900 acres of wetlands, a substantial portion of which stemmed from one of the largest ecological restoration projects in Maryland’s history, the Pocomoke River restoration project. 

The 73-mile long Pocomoke River drains water from four Delmarva counties. In the mid-20th century, an 18-mile section of the Pocomoke was dredged and channelized, disconnecting the river from thousands of acres of floodplain. 

To date, working with parners, we have restored more than 3,000 acres of floodplain wetlands which will help reduce erosion and improve water quality and habitat for wildlife and for people who depend on a healthy Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. 

When this project is complete in the next two to three years, the Pocomoke River will see an annual reduction of 71,000 pounds of total nitrogen, 7,600 pounds of total phosphorus and 47,500 pounds of total sediment into the Chesapeake Bay.

Great Cypress Swamp: Restoration and Partnership

Partnership and collaboration are critical to restoring wetlands and floodplains at a meaningful scale. At the headwaters of the Pocomoke River in Delaware’s Great Cypress Swamp, TNC’s Pennsylvania & Delaware chapter and their partners Delaware Wild Lands, Inc. and Ducks Unlimited have restored more than 60 acres of wetlands, adding to 750 acres of previously restored cypress and Atlantic white cedar wetlands. It’s part of an effort to resculpt the area's hydrology to create a highly varied, multi-age, multi-class forest in a wetlands setting.

Scaling Sustainable Agriculture

Our work with agricultural partners isn't limited to the Eastern Shore. Around the world TNC is fostering innovations in technology, collaborating with agricultural communities and agribusinesses, and promoting policies that enable sustainable framing practices.

TNC is making important investments in growing our sustainable agriculture program in China, the world’s most populous country. Agriculture is a vital industry in China, employing over 300 million farmers. For context, that’s roughly the entire population of the United States.

Improving efficiencies and reducing the environmental impacts of the agricultural industry in China will be a huge win for people and nature. However, China is behind the U.S. when it comes to the widespread adoption of sustainable farming practices. To accelerate the adoption of these practices in China, Ying Li and Nan Zeng, leaders of TNC’s China Ag team, spent two weeks touring U.S. farms with local TNC staff and partners during a visit in 2019.

Ying and Nan’s first stop was Harborview Farms in Rock Hall, Maryland where they learned about precision nitrogen application, cover crops and soil health from farm owner/operator Trey Hill and agribusiness partner Mike Twining of Willard Agri-Service.