Will Early Adopters Inspire Other Amish Farmers to Follow their Lead?
From the Chesapeake Bay Foundation…
New Holland, PA - From the looks of it, the newly planted tree shelters and electrified fences around the small creek running through Benuel Zook’s farm may not look like much. But for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Zook’s farm is a model for proper streambank restoration. And the foundation is counting on other Amish farmers to do the same by offering them an incentive: money.
Last year, the foundation received around $1 million in funding over a three-year period to put together its “buffer bonus” program. The foundation has teamed up with the Lancaster County Conservation District, consulting firms Red Barn and TeamAg, and others on the program. Only two farmers have signed up thus far, but the goal is to sign up as many as 50 Amish farmers, giving them an incentive to plant trees along streambanks and keep cows out.
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