RICHMOND
--Virginia farmers say stricter regulations contained in proposed federal rules to protect the Chesapeake Bay could run them out of business.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pre-paring new bay cleanup regulations that could be ready next year, and both houses of Congress have legislation to do the same.
Members of the Virginia Farm Bureau, which is holding its annual convention in Richmond this week, say they support a cleaner bay, but that they fear passage of such mandates could be too costly for them to meet, especially in this poor economy.
Farmers said they
"My land is my greatest asset, and I value it and protect it the same way I have looked after my children," said Hanover dairy farmer Leigh Pemberton.
But Pemberton, whose family has been farming for more than 100 years, is afraid new regulations will require changes so expensive that he'd go out of business.
"I have never lost so much money in one year" as he did this year, Pemberton said.
Amelia dairy farmer Donna Kerr said she, too, is worried. She has already fenced off her streams and taken other conservation measures. But, she said, her family endured a 40 percent drop in the price they get for milk this year.
If she has to spend money to meet new standards, she said, she can't.
"It'll be the end for me. There's no money to do this," Kerr said.
Park Dodd said he's been farming in Caroline County since 1961. He said he, too, has taken many conservation measures on his own, but fears new mandates would drive other farmers out of business.
"The more mandates the fewer that can afford to do it," Dodd said.
Farm Bureau leaders will be asking the state for more financial help for farmers in the upcoming legislative session, and they plan to lobby in Washington against stricter regulations for farmers.
"There certainly is a better way to attack this issue than for farmers to close their gates and fallow their fields," said Virginia Farm Bureau President Wayne Pryor.
According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the legislation currently in Congress doesn't impose specific mandates on farmers: Instead, it establishes pollution-reduction targets and lets states decide how to meet them. The foundation also says the legislation would provide money for assistance to farmers.
Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
Email: cdavis@freelancestar.com