HJ333: Commending the 10 River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award Program.

WHEREAS, the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Soil and Water Conservation Districts provide farmers throughout the Commonwealth with education, technical assistance, and incentive programs to encourage nutrient reduction and water quality improvement; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly passed legislation in 1998 to establish the Clean Water Farm Award Program, which is administered by the Department of Conservation and Recreation; and

WHEREAS, the Clean Water Farm Award Program furthers the Commonwealth?s water quality goals by recognizing farmers actively engaged in implementing important conservation practices that control nutrients, sediment, and other agricultural nonpoint source pollutants; and

WHEREAS, the Soil and Water Conservation Districts selected local farms across the Commonwealth for recognition in 2011 as winners of the Clean Water Farm Award; and

WHEREAS, ten of those farms were selected and announced at the December 2011 meeting of the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts by the Department of Conservation and Recreation to represent the Commonwealth?s 10 major river basins and to recognize the exemplary efforts of such farms in implementing best management practices; and

WHEREAS, those 10 winners are:

Rivergate Dairy Farm, Washington County, for the Big Sandy/Tennessee River Basin;

Petik Farm, Prince George County, for the Chowan River Basin;

Nottingham Enterprises Inc., Northampton County, for the Coastal Basin;

Piedmont Manor Farm, Albemarle County, for the James River Basin;

Bullard Family Partnership, Pulaski County, for the New River Basin;

Oak Grove Meadows, Fauquier County, for the Potomac River Basin;

Hidden Springs Farm, Madison County, for the Rappahannock River Basin;

Fulton Farms, Joe and Denise Clark, Patrick County, for the Roanoke River Basin;

Suffangus Farm, LLC, Augusta County, for the Shenandoah River Basin; and

Corduroy Farm, Louisa County, for the York River Basin; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate the 10 River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the 10 River Basin Grand Winners of the Clean Water Farm Award as an expression of the General Assembly?s admiration for their commitment to conserving the Commonwealth?s natural resources and their outstanding conservation achievements.