SALISBURY, MD. — Perdue Farms recently announced a partnership with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay to support conservation practices on poultry farms throughout the state of Pennsylvania.

The initiative will be funded by a $1 million Innovative Nutrient and Sediment Reduction grant awarded to the Alliance by the NFWF. Perdue also committed $300,000 to the project. 

“At Perdue, our responsibility as good environmental stewards includes partnering with various stakeholders to preserve and protect our natural resources,” said Drew Getty, vice president of environmental sustainability at Perdue Farms. “This partnership with the Alliance, the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, and our farm partners, who are some of the best stewards of the environment, is a great example of collaboration to enhance the quality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”

The partnership will provide technical and financial support to up to 80 of Perdue’s farmers in Pennsylvania.

Full-farm conservation remains the priority with a balance of environmental concerns while also meeting the operational and economic needs of farmers.

As part of this project, the funding will provide and leverage cost-share dollars to install approximately 36 conservation practices, such as manure stacking and mortality composting sheds, riparian forest buffers, and vegetative environmental buffers (also known as windbreaks or shelterbelts). 

Stormwater management, soil health and crop field practices will provide additional on-farm conservation work. 

“Perdue is an industry leader in environmental sustainability,” said Brittany Smith, Pennsylvania agriculture projects manager at the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. “Our work will support more farmers in accessing critical technical and financial support for on-farm improvements. We hope to serve as a model for other poultry integrators throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed and beyond.”