Save the Bay - Winter 2015

A Farmer’s Support
Means Cleaner Water

Iwas an environmentalist before I was a farmer,” Charles Bares says one warm fall morning. Bares has taken time out from managing his dairy farm, which comprises 5,000 acres and a few thousand cows, to speak about his support of CBF.

Bares and his family live in upstate New York—outside the Bay watershed. In fact, he’s only been to the Chesapeake Bay region a handful of times. Yet, he generously supports CBF’s work.

“You’re going out there and fighting the good fight. That’s what I appreciate,” he says.

Bares strongly believes in CBF’s work to support the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, a plan that he hopes will influence the cleanup of other polluted waters.

From defending the Blueprint in the courts, to our hands-on restoration work and our educational programs, Bares believes that CBF is laying groundwork that will help provide clean water to people all over the United States.

“The work that CBF is doing, people are
going to stand on those shoulders,” he says,
adding, CBF is at “the forefront of changing
opinions and getting policy makers behind
you and showing how many people care
and how they can make a difference.”
Bares emphasizes that the American Farm
Bureau Federation—the group challenging
the legality of the Blueprint—does not speak
for all farmers. “They certainly don’t speak for
me,” he says.

Bares traces his passion for protecting the environment to his enjoyment of the outdoors, which began during his childhood in suburban Cleveland. He remembers summers spent fishing, birdwatching, and exploring nature, experiences that taught him to appreciate the environment and inspired him to become a farmer.

Over the years, the amount of time he has spent outdoors has given him a unique perspective on the impact of pollution. As an example, he mentions toads, a species that has been hit especially hard by pollution and habitat loss. He describes seeing the amphibians during summers while he was growing up and compares it to what his children see today. “To my kids, it would be unbelievable.” Not content to passively watch these changes occur, Bares and his brother formed a company that uses technology to reduce agricultural pollution. Known as Rowbot Systems, Inc., the company produces small robots that roll through cornfields applying the exact amount of nitrogen fertilizer that the plants need. This is a departure from traditional farming practices, in which fertilizer is sprayed broadly across fields by large machines. Although the robots are still being tested, the idea holds the potential to reduce pollution and save farmers money.

In addition to his company’s innovative use of technology, Bares is an advocate for more traditional conservation methods of reducing agricultural pollution, including utilizing cover crops to prevent erosion and fencing livestock from streams and creeks. “It doesn’t take a lot of money; it takes a willingness,” he says.

He emphasizes that being a farmer and caring about the environment aren’t mutually exclusive. “There are lots of farmers out there who don’t want to pollute. They want to leave their creek behind the barn the way they found it, for their kids and grandkids,” he says, adding, “We all just have to take care of our own little piece of land and lead by example.”

u To learn more about the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, visit cbf.org/blueprint.

CO U RTES Y PH OTO

Our Giving Community
Charles Bares, a dairy farmer from
upstate New York, is a generous supporter of
CBF’s work to defend and implement
the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint.

He believes, like CBF, that the Blueprint can
improve waterways across the United States.

A Gift that Gives Back
This holiday season you have two options to save the Bay while giving a unique gift
to a friend or loved one.

CBF Gift Membership—The gift of a one-year membership will support CBF’s comprehensive work to restore the Chesapeake Bay, while providing your gift recipient exclusive benefits all year long, including a subscription to Save the Bay magazine, discounts at our online store, and reduced rates on Bay Discovery trips.

CBF's Online Giving Catalog—Baby oysters. Native trees. Field experiences for students. Environmentally-friendly “virtual gifts” make great holiday presents. All donations support CBF’s efforts to save the Bay and its rivers and streams.