Session Details

Further session details including additional speakers and Continuing Education Credits (CECs) being offered will be added as confirmed

Session 1:

From Managing Risk to Building Resilience: Farms, Communities, and Conservation

February 3, 2021 1pm-4pm

Supporting a thriving farm economy and resilient farms, farm families, and rural communities is an essential to restoring and sustaining a healthy Bay watershed. This session will help the region’s agricultural conservation practitioners better understand the complex risks and stressors faces by the region’s diverse farming communities, proven approaches to assessing and measuring risk and farm resilience, and efforts underway to pair conservation, risk management, and resilience at the farm and community scale.
Emerging, multidisciplinary frameworks for understanding and addressing the varied aspects of farm and farm family risk and resilience

Kurt Fuchs, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit (Moderator)

Bonnie Braun, Ph.D., University of Maryland Extension

Maria Pippidis, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Insights from lenders and extension specialists on assessing farm financial and operational risks and the indicators of healthy agricultural enterprises

Kurt Fuchs, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit (Moderator)

Robert Goodling, Penn State Extension

Wayne Richard, Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit

Case studies and discussion on where and how conservation can support farm risk management and resilience and opportunities for conservationists to partner with the farmer support network

Jake Reilly, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Moderator)

Jamie Mierau, American Farmland Trust

Laura Sands, K·Coe Isom

Jamie Shenk, Beauregard Farms

John Shepherd, Virginia Grain Farmer

Session 1 Confirmed CECs: 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 3 Conservation Planner Credits for West Virginia NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, 1 Conservation Planner Credit for Maryland NRCS Certified Conservation Planners , 1 Nutrient Management CEC from Delaware Department of Agriculture

Session 2:

Best Practices in Outreach and Behavior Change: Nudge Theory

February 10, 2021 1pm-4pm

The session will improve conservation practitioners’ understanding of the categories of opportunity that behavioral scientists have identified that can “nudge” individuals and organizations towards increasing conservation behaviors in agriculture, particularly in respect to participating in voluntary conservation programs.


Social science findings about what influences decision makers (land owners and land managers) in the agricultural sector
Erin Ling, Virginia Tech (Moderator)J. Arbuckle, Ph.D., Iowa State UniversityLinda Prokopy, Ph.D., Purdue University
The Ag-E MINDSPACE framework to strengthen insights to behavioral responses for conservation program delivery
Leah H. Palm-Forster, PhD., University of Delaware
Associated Resources: The Center for Behavioral & Experimental Agri-Environmental Research's Ag-E MINDSPACE framework
Case studies on local and regional conservation delivery efforts that “nudge” to drive conservation adoption
Erin Ling, Virginia Tech (Moderator)Franklin Egan, Ph.D., PASAEric Eckl, Water Words that WorkSarah Everhart, UMD Agriculture Law Education Initiative Gordon Hoover, Lancaster Farmland TrustTim Hushon, The MillAlex Metcalf, Ph.D., University of Montana

Session 2 Confirmed CECs: 2 Outreach CECs for Pennsylvania NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 3 Conservation Planner Credits for West Virginia NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, 1 Conservation Planner Credit for Maryland NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 1 CEC for Virginia NRCS certified Conservation Planners, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from Delaware Department of Agriculture

Session 3:

Beyond the Bay: Collaborative Approaches to Water Quality Improvements

February 17, 2021 1pm-4pm

Collaborative approaches across the nation have looked to the Chesapeake Bay watershed for examples of enhanced regional collaboration among agencies, organizations and business that advance agricultural water quality by scaling the development and implementation of tailored, farm-scale conservation solutions. How have large watershed efforts in other parts of the country evolved to improve water quality outcomes in agricultural and other landscapes and what can we learn from them that will help us improve our collaborative work in the Bay?


Collaborations, Partnerships, and Working Together: Different approaches, shapes, sizes, scale and why they matter

Sarah Clark, Institute for Conservation Leadership

How does the Vermont Agricultural Water Quality Partnership tick? A multi-sector glimpse into its structure, function, and collaborative approach to get ag conservation on the ground, support the well-being of Vermont’s rural landscapes and community, and meet the goals of the Lake Champlain TMDL
Sarah Clark, Institute for Conservation Leadership (Moderator)Members of the Vermont Agricultural Water Quality Partnership
Seasoned Chesapeake Bay partners who’ve led, facilitated, and participated in some of our most well-known collaboratives will explore together what they heard from the Vermont team and consider how it informs our work in the Bay

Amber Ellis, James River Association

Jennifer Nelson, Resource Smart LLC & MD Association of Soil Conservation Districts

Matt Royer, The Pennsylvania State University

Cory Guilliams, VA NRCS

Session 3 Confirmed CECs: 2 Other CECs for Pennsylvania NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 3 Conservation Planner Credits for West Virginia NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, 1 CEC for Virginia NRCS certified Conservation Planners, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from Delaware Department of Agriculture, 1 Conservation Planner Credit for Maryland NRCS Certified Conservation Planners

Session 4:

Supply Chain Sustainability: Insights, Trends, and Operating Models

February 22, 2021 1pm-4pm

This session will help conservationists in the region to activate, engage with, and scale up their own work with corporate supply chain stakeholders by exploring a handful of the most significant corporate-led, agricultural supply chain sustainability efforts currently operating in the Bay region.


Insights from leading researchers and supply chain professionals on the state of supply chain sustainability in 2020 and beyond

Yin Jin Lee, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

Associated Resources: State of Supply Chain Sustainability Report – 2020 - MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics and Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals
Conversations with corporate sustainability managers representing some of the region’s most impactful sustainability initiatives currently driving on-farm improvements
Lindsay Reames, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative (Moderator)Jamie Burr, Tyson FoodsKatie Morison, The Hershey CompanyAmanda Tate, Altria Group
A tour of the operating models and on-the-ground partnerships translating corporate sustainability commitments to the farm level
Jenna Mitchell, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (Moderator)Jenny Ahlen, Environmental Defense FundDaniel Fox, Altria GroupPeter Hughes, Red Barn ConsultingJanae Klinger, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative AssociationMauricio Rosales, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay

Session 4 Confirmed CECs: 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 3 Conservation Planner Credits for West Virginia NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from Delaware Department of Agriculture, 1 Conservation Planner Credit for Maryland NRCS Certified Conservation Planners

Session 5:

It Starts with a Plan: Making Nutrient and Manure Management Work

February 24, 2021 1pm-4pm

Achieving restoration goals and maintaining accomplishments for local streams and the Bay will rely on a sea change in sustained nutrient management in the region. By some estimates, state and local partners must double the current extent of basic nutrient management planning and implementation between now and 2025 in order to meet local water quality goals, with even more ambitious goals for implementing advanced approaches to nutrient management. This panel will explore key aspects of building a more sustained and robust system for nutrient management planning and implementation in the region.


Insights from producers and planners across the Bay region on what drives their approach to nutrient management and the challenges, opportunities, and tradeoffs inherent in nutrient management planning
Eric Rosenbaum, Rosetree Consulting (Moderator)Matt Hoff, Coldsprings Farms David Kann, Agronomics PlusDean Patches, Farm OperatorRobert Waring, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation
Efforts to assess and revise state-based agronomic recommendations to incorporate new science on soil health and fertility
Lisa Blazure, Stroud Water Research Center (Moderator)Wade Thomason, Ph.D., Virginia Tech University Charlie White, Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University
A survey of promising efforts to increase the value of nutrient management planning for producers, deliver new technologies to assist in meeting local nutrient management needs, and identify systems-level “game changers” for regional nutrient management
Wade Thomason, Ph.D., Virginia Tech University (Moderator)Jeff Herring, Farm OperatorRobb Hinton, Farm OperatorEric Rosenbaum, Rosetree ConsultingLindsay Thompson, Thompson Ag Consulting, LLCTim Woodward, Tellus Agronomics

Session 5 Confirmed CECs: 2 Farmstead CECs for Pennsylvania NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, 3 Conservation Planner Credits for West Virginia NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 3 CECs from the Pennsylvania Chapter of Certified Crop Advisors, 3 CECs from the New York Chapter of Certified Crop Advisors, 1 Conservation Planner Credit for Virginia NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 3 Nutrient Management CECs from Delaware Department of Agriculture, 1 Conservation Planner Credit for Maryland NRCS Certified Conservation Planners

Session 6:

Why and What For: Stream and Riparian Restoration in Agricultural Landscapes

March 3, 2021 1pm-4pm

The pace of stream and riparian restoration in the region’s agricultural landscapes continues to accelerate, as state and local partners look to qualified stream restoration projects, riparian buffers, livestock exclusion, and associated practices to deliver significant contributions towards regional nutrient and sediment reduction goals. This session will help the region’s agricultural conservation and ecosystem restoration practitioners reorient ongoing stream and riparian restoration efforts towards local stream health, aquatic habitat improvements, and watershed-scale approaches to achieve local restoration goals.


Evidence-based insights on long-term stream and riparian restoration strategies and outcomes for stream health and habitat improvement

John Jackson, Ph.D., Stroud Water Research Center

Associated Resources: Stroud Freshwater Research and Watershed Restoration resources

Practical frameworks and technical considerations for establishing local stream restoration goals and crediting projects towards local nutrient and sediment goals
Rich Starr, Ecosystem Planning & RestorationDavid Wood, Chesapeake Stormwater Network

Associated Resources: Stream Protocols/Tools - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Chesapeake Bay Field Office

Stream Restoration Resources - Chesapeake Stormwater Network

NFWF's Stream Restoration Resources Checklist

Sharing NFWF's "preferred approach(es)" for work in and along rural stream corridors, focusing on a light touch/do no harm approach and based on local ecological endpoints
Jake Reilly, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation
Case studies of watershed-scale approaches to stream health and aquatic habitat improvement
Allyson Gibson and Lamonte Garber, Lancaster Clean Water PartnersMike Lovegreen, Upper Susquehanna CoalitionDustin Wichterman, Trout Unlimited

Session 6 Confirmed CECs: 2 Forest or 2 Wildlife Biology CECs for Pennsylvania NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 3 Nutrient Management CECs from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 3 Conservation Planner Credits for West Virginia NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from the Maryland Department of Agriculture, 3 CECs for Certified Crop Advisors in Chesapeake Bay Watershed states, 3 CECs from the New York Chapter of Certified Crop Advisors, 1 Conservation Planner Credit for Virginia NRCS Certified Conservation Planners, 1 Nutrient Management CEC from Delaware Department of Agriculture, 1 Conservation Planner Credit for Maryland NRCS Certified Conservation Planners