RICHMOND—The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are the lifeblood of Virginia’s agricultural operations, and farmers’ efforts to improve the bay are paying off.

The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science released its annual report card July 9, with the overall Chesapeake Bay earning a grade of C+, or 55%—the highest grade since 2002. The 17th annual ecosystem report card is a half-letter grade improvement from the previous year’s mark, up four points from 2022.

Of the 15 regions in the 64,000-square-mile watershed, 11 showed improved scores, with five showing significant improvement.

Virginia’s Tidewater region scored at the top. The Lower Bay region that stretches from Norfolk to the Northern Neck again earned the highest overall score at 70%—a solid B grade.

Improvements to water quality, habitat and fisheries are credited to public investments in wastewater system upgrades, controlled runoff from development, and farmers’ efforts in reducing nutrients in waterways.

"There is still much to do, but this is a strong indicator of progress,” said Adam Ortiz, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mid-Atlantic regional administrator. “After being off track, the partnership is now accelerating progress. In recent years, the EPA has stepped up enforcement, accountability and investments, and it is paying off. These efforts have helped spur historic results among upstream and downstream states and all sectors, especially agriculture."

The sub-waters of the Lower Eastern Shore, however, received the lowest scores in some categories. Although these three regions make up only 7% of the total bay watershed area, nearly 40% of that land is devoted to agricultural activities like soybean and poultry farming, which have an impact on smaller tributaries flowing into the bay.

The report said managing those impacts is possible only by continuing to collaborate with agricultural communities.

“For years, the farmers on the Eastern Shore complained that they were getting the short end of the stick and needed more funding for conservation practices,” said Martha Moore, senior vice president of governmental relations for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. “They were correct when the model was wrong. With the most recent version of the model, their percentage of funding for conservation practices increased, and now they are working hard to get those conservation practices implemented.”

Thousands of other producers also have taken that initiative, doing their part with support from federal and state agencies. Between 2002 and 2022, over 39,000 agricultural best management practices were installed in sensitive areas, reducing about 23 million pounds of nutrient and sediment runoff, according to the 2023 Chesapeake Bay and Virginia Waters Clean-up Plan.

Last year’s General Assembly appropriated $249.5 million for conservation practices and technical assistance and included full funding in the next biennium year. Moore said this means agriculture is “well down the path” to meeting its nutrient load reductions mandated by the federal Total Maximum Daily Load.

Media: Contact Moore at 804-347-5752 or Dave Nemazie, UMCES communications, at 443-496-0187.