Senators Coons, Carper highlight conservation accomplishments in Chesapeake Bay Watershed

SEAFORD, Del. – On Monday, Senators Chris Coons and Tom Carper were joined by state officials and Seaford cattle farm owners Carlton and Jody Jones to highlight conservation accomplishments in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, working with farmers and other local stakeholders, has achieved historic levels of conservation implementation in the Chesapeake Bay watershed during the past two years, leading to water quality improvements, wildlife habitat enhancement and support of rural economies. 

NRCS helped Chesapeake Bay farmers and forest landowners voluntarily install conservation practices or actions on a total of 650,000 acres of working lands. Since 2004, NRCS has provided more than $500 million to help farmers install or apply conservation practices. Through the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative (CBWI), and other Farm Bill programs, NRCS staff helped landowners to voluntarily implement over 60,000 new conservation practices in the watershed in 2011. 

"Voluntary conservation practices make a tremendous difference as we work to support our local farmers while protecting and sustaining our precious natural resources for generations to come," Senator Coons said. "Delaware farmers continue to raise the bar when it comes to committing themselves to best management practices that protect and preserve the land they farm, as well as the natural resources that surround them. What has been accomplished in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed should not only be celebrated, but should also serve as a model for other areas in the state, region and the nation."

NRCS staff has helped landowners voluntarily apply or construct nearly 300 waste storage facilities, over 150,000 acres of nutrient management to regulate nutrient application, and nearly 70,000 feet of terraces to prevent soil erosion.

Sen. Coons welcomes participants at UD poultry program

Senator Coons visited the University of Delaware on Monday to welcome participants at the Emergency Poultry Disease Response Certificate Program (EPDR). The program runs from June 18 to June 21 and features a consortium of local and international scientists and policy makers.

“This program involves cooperation among all levels of government, as well as commercial producers, backyard flock owners and top-flight research universities,” Chris said. “This is how we get things done in Delaware, and I’m proud we are working to share our knowledge and experience with poultry growers in other countries around the world.”

Chris is an outspoken supporter of Delaware’s poultry farmers. Last week, he joined with Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) to introduce an amendment to the farm bill currently being considered by the Senate that would commission studies on the practicality of insurance policies for farmers in case of a catastrophic event like a poultry company bankruptcy or poultry disease outbreak.

The EPDR Certificate Program is a four-day certificate course taught at the University of Delaware. Participants have the opportunity to learn about emergency procedures developed by the Delaware Department of Agriculture, University of Delaware faculty and agriculture industry professionals for outbreaks of poultry disease. The program also works to help foster closer ties between the United States, foreign officials and poultry industry professionals. This year’s attendees include a global roster of attendees representing countries such as Uganda, Bolivia, Israel and Japan.

Click here to learn more about Chris’ work on agriculture.

Click here to learn more about the University of Delaware’s EPDR program.

Honoring International Women’s Day

Since the United Nations General Assembly first invited member states to proclaim March 8 as International Women’s Day in 1977, many countries pause to mark the innumerable contributions women have made in their country and around the world. The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2012 is Empower Women – End Hunger and Poverty.

As chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, Senator Coons knows that in order to increase the quality of life for Africans, women must have a seat at the table and play an integral role in national decisions. This can only occur when countries invest in educating girls and boys equally and provide access to primary health care services.

The scourge of malaria impacts all kinds of people, but the majority of those killed are pregnant women and children under five years old.  Senator Coons is a co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Working Group on Malaria to raise Congressional awareness of U.S. efforts to stem the tide of malaria across the globe. Malaria, an infectious blood disease spread by mosquitoes, is most prevalent in the developing world, with 90 percent of deaths occurring in Africa. In June, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution sponsored by Chris that supports the goals and ideals of World Malaria Day, and affirmed support for U.S. leadership to combat malaria as a critical component of the President’s Global Health Initiative.

Women play a critical role in agriculture, which forms the foundation of the economy for the rural poor. Worldwide roughly 1.6 billion women rely on farming for their livelihoods, and female farmers produce more than half of the world’s food. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, women account for 75 percent of all the agricultural producers. Due to the lack of information technology and the inability to connect rural enterprises to banks, many women in developing nations face greater obstacles than men when it comes to increasing their productivity and income.

One way women are working together to improve their communities and income is through cooperatives (co-ops) a type of business characterized by democratic ownership where farmers pool their resources for mutual economic benefit. In the war-torn country of Côte d’Ivoire, Marium Gnire partnered with Slow Foods International to organize a women’s farming co-op that would provide quality local food for school meals in her village of N’Ganon, increasing both the women’s income and the health of the community. Co-ops have been immensely successful in improving the lives of women and their families.

International Women’s Day is a time for reflection on the role women have played and continue to play in the betterment of our society and our world.

Click here to learn more about International Women’s Day.

Click here to learn more about Chris’ work on foreign policy. 

Working to create sustainable, profitable jobs in rural communities

Senator Chris Coons offered his support today for a series of initiatives unveiled by President Obama this week to grow the economy and create jobs in rural communities. 

“Washington can and must do more to help America’s businesses create jobs,” Chris said in a statement to the press. “The initiatives the President unveiled this week to help rural businesses are consistent with what I’m hearing from Delaware’s small business owners, who need better access to capital to grow and expanded health care services in their communities to keep costs down.” 

To help small businesses get better access to capital, President Obama this week proposed to double the Small Business Administration’s investment funds for rural small businesses over the next five years as part of its Startup America Initiative. The President is also launching a series of conferences nationwide to connect private equity and venture capital investors with rural start-ups. 

To help out-of-work Americans find jobs, President Obama announced a partnership between the Department of Labor and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase access to existing job search and job training opportunities by making them available at USDA’s 2,800 field offices nationwide.

This initiative by the White House coincides with this week’s announcement of more than $48,900 in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding to four agricultural producers and small businesses in Kent and Sussex counties. The grants are designed to encourage the integration of renewable energy sources and implementation of energy efficiency measures in their operations to reduce dependence of foreign oil, promote job creation, and spur the economic competitiveness of rural communities.

“By investing in clean energy technology, Delaware’s rural businesses are investing in a sustainable, profitable future that will help them compete on a global level,” Chris said in a statement to the press. “Encouraging farmers and small businesses to increase their energy efficiency can have a positive ripple effect for the entire country. I congratulate the winners of these grants and applaud the President for leading in this effort to strengthen our agricultural communities.”

To read Chris’ statement on the White House rural economy initiative, click HERE. 

To read Chris’ statement on the USDA grant to Delaware farms and rural small businesses, click HERE.

To read more about Chris’ work for Delaware’s agricultural community, click HERE  

To read more about President’s Obama’s rural tour, click HERE.