It's Arbor Day & Pennsylvania Dairy Farmers are Planting Thousands of Trees!

LANCASTER, Pa. (April 25) – At a dairy farm in Lancaster County, more than 630 new tree saplings are sprouting up across the land, planted about two weeks ago by a group of local volunteers. The planting was just one of several taking place this spring, part of an ongoing effort by Pennsylvania Dairy Farmers and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to help keep local streams and the Chesapeake Bay clean.

A long-standing partnership between American Dairy Association North East (ADANE), Pennsylvania Dairy Farmers and Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay helps provide resources that farmers need to plant trees along streams and rivers on their farms. Called riparian buffers, these reforestation projects protect streams from storm water runoff and reduce soil erosion. Trees and other plantings help filter the water locally, before it makes its way downstream to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. This spring, about 6,000 trees will be planted on dairy farms.

“As dairy farmers, we care deeply about the land we farm and the water surrounding it. We work closely with environmental groups to implement best practices to protect natural resources,” said Lolly Lesher, chair of the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program on behalf of Pennsylvania Dairy Farmers.

“The simple act of planting trees has great impact on water quality. Our goal is to contribute to a thriving ecosystem that benefits both agriculture and the community. The support that we receive by partnering with groups like Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay is vitally important,” Lesher said.

“Here at the Alliance, we take great pride in developing and implementing solutions that bring long-lasting resilience to our lands and waters,” said Kate Fritz, CEO, Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay.

“By collaborating with farmers to implement conservation practices, such as the tree plantings that we’re celebrating on Arbor Day, we enable farmers to maintain productive agricultural lands while simultaneously protecting their local waterways,” Fritz said.

This annual spring planting program is one example of the responsible production practices that dairy farmers use to protect the environment. To find out more about ADANE’s and Pennsylvania Dairy Farmers’ efforts to plant trees, visit americandairy.com/trees.

For more information about Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, and its action-oriented impact and collaboration across the watershed, visit allianceforthebay.org/whatwedo.