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Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, in partnership with Maola Local Dairies (Maola), has been awarded a $2 million grant through the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) Chesapeake Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reductions (INSR) Grant Program. The project, titled Sustainable Dairy Partnerships and Corporate Investment in the Chesapeake Bay on Maola farms using flexible funding to advance on-farm sustainability. The project will install high-impact agricultural and manure management practices across 500 acres. The grant, which will support family-owned dairy farms in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, brings an exciting new corporate supporter to dairy sustainability, Starbucks.
Jenna Beckett, Agriculture Program Director shared, “The Alliance is thrilled to continue to partner with MDVA to support their member farms and welcome an exciting new supporter, Starbucks, to the table. We have been inspired by Starbucks’ commitment to sustainability and are excited for the impact we will generate through this effort together.”
Starbucks has selected Maola as the dairy cooperative in the region to receive funding to help advance sustainable dairy practices on member farms. The financial support by Starbucks combined with the INSR grant will allow the Alliance and Maola to continue our work in accelerating the adoption of conservation practices on member farms. In 2022 Starbucks launched its Sustainable Dairy Program in the United States, designed to advance environmental stewardship, help enhance farmer and workforce conditions, and help ensure the quality care of animals. The program provides farmers with resources, tools and information to help ensure a more sustainable dairy industry for future generations.
To ensure the Maola dairy farms selected for funding for conservation practices achieve maximum reductions from their farms, the Project will require that all farms receiving funds either have or will implement a riparian forest buffer planting on site. The combined private and public funding will empower these farms to advance their conservation goals, resulting in a greater regional-scale partnership and improved technical service assistance. The implemented BMPs will reduce critical sediment and nutrient loads reaching the Chesapeake Bay, increase habitat for wildlife, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure long term resilience for our agricultural lands.
“The funding received through the INSR grant will help ease the financial and technical burden on our dairy farmers and improve the success of farms transitioning to the next generation,” said Lindsay Reames, EVP of Sustainability & External Relations at Maola. “We are thrilled to have Starbucks as a partner on this project and a dedicated supporter of sustainable dairy products. Their contribution to the sustainability of our family-owned dairy farms will heavily influence other retail customers to take similar action in their own communities.”
About Maola Local Dairies: Maola Local Dairies, owned by the farmers of Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association, sustainably produces a full suite of nutritious dairy products through our network of six dairy processing plants. With a keen eye on quality, freshness, and love for the environment, Maola delivers dairy products that are both nutritious and sustainable to our local communities. For more information about Maola, please visit www.maolamilk.com.
About the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay: Since 1971, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has served as the ‘backbone’ for action-oriented impact and collaboration across our watershed. With four strategically placed offices and four focused programs, we’re positioned to solve downstream problems with upstream solutions. Through boots-on-the-ground solutions, technical assistance, and expertise, we prevent pollution where it begins – on the land – before it reaches our rivers and the Chesapeake. By collaborating with like-minded individuals and organizations, the Alliance becomes a catalyst, building the capacity of others to join and accelerate clean water in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
About the INSR Program: The INSR Program aims to accelerate the implementation of water quality improvements specifically through the collaborative and coordinated efforts of sustainable, regional scale partnerships and networks of practitioners with a shared focus on water quality restoration and protection. NFWF awarded 13 grants totaling $22.4 million to support water quality improvement efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Those grants will leverage $35.3 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of $57.7 million. Since 2006, the INSR Program has provided more than $200 million to more than 250 projects that have reduced 36 million pounds of nitrogen, 9 million pounds of phosphorus, and nearly 800,000 tons of sediment across the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
