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What We Are Doing
EPA Region 4 employees tour a University of Georgia greenhouse where various methods are used to grow algae for renewable energy.
EPA Region 4 works with our agriculture partners and other interested parties to achieve environmental improvement and promote sustainable production of safe, abundant supplies of food, fiber, horticultural, and energy products. Our Regional Agricultural Strategy identifies several priority activities including promotion of the following areas:
- Environmental Stewardship
- Environmentally sustainable energy technologies and climate change
- Clean and safe water through watershed protection
Environmental Stewardship
Perdue Clean Waters Environmental Initiative
- EPA Regions 4 and 3 and Perdue Farms Incorporated entered into an agreement to help independent contract poultry producers growing for Perdue protect our nation's waters. The parties signed a Memorandum of Agreement to implement the Perdue Clean Waters Environmental Initiative PDF (1 p., 166K), a voluntary effort to provide training assistance and environmental assessments for poultry producers.
- The initiative will help the producers' poultry operations comply with federal, state and local environmental regulations. Perdue poultry processing facilities will also each implement an Environmental Management System, which is a set of processes and practices that will reduce environmental impacts and increase operating efficiency.
USEPA Region 4 - 2009 Spring Agriculture Field Tours Explore Organic Farms
An EPA employee holds fresh garlic grown on the farm.
Region 4 employees toured two organic and sustainable agriculture farms in northeast Georgia and another
farm in East Point, Georgia. The first farm was a 200-acre certified organic family farm specializing in grass-fed beef and pastured Berkshire pork. In addition to growing feed for the animals, they were also harvesting tomatoes, leafy greens, radishes, beets, onions, garlic, and strawberries. The farm supplied and supported many small urban markets and a large Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with their fresh from the farm produce.
The second farm was a 17.5-acre organic farm with fresh produce grown using sustainable farming practices without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. The farm is surrounded on all sides by growing suburban neighborhoods.
The final farm was located in an urban community in East Point, GA. The farmer has five in-town locations that produce fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs. In addition to growing crops for urban clients and local restaurant and markets, the farm focuses on horticulture literacy and
environmental education.
Pesticides Programs
EPA employees tour a floriculture operation to hear about problems with pests becoming resistant to approved pesticides.
- Region 4 provides technical support and assistance to reduce the risks of pesticides to human health and the environment by:
- training pesticide inspectors to communicate with Spanish speaking workers to improve worker protection and grower compliance;
- facilitating field tours and listening sessions to discuss pesticide re-registration decisions; and
- providing grant funding to states for pesticide and container disposal programs.
- Plant resistance to pesticides in the Southeast was the topic of a field tour hosted by Region 4, the University of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
- EPA Headquarters staff from the Office of Pesticides met with farmers and agricultural scientists in south Georgia to discuss the environmental, economic and labor implications that occur when fruits, vegetables, flowers, nuts and cotton become resistant to approved pesticides.
- The group agreed to bring additional stakeholders together to continue the dialogue and to discuss options to address the issue.
Environmentally Sustainable Energy Technologies and Climate Change
Southeast Diesel Collaborative (SEDC)
- SEDC encourages the use of clean, renewable energy and technologies and the reduction of diesel emissions from existing engines and equipment from agriculture, heavy construction and on-road sectors.
Region 4 employees and University of Georgia scientists discussed research on converting chicken litter into bio-oil, char, and fertilizer.
- The SEDC sponsored a field tour to learn about the University of Georgia's research on making bio-oil from chicken litter. The chicken litter is heated to break it into a coarse fraction and a fine fraction. The energy-rich coarse fraction is heated by pyrolysis to make bio-oil and char. The nutrient-rich fine fraction is processed into fertilizer pellets.
Region 4 employees are standing on top of anaerobic digester used to generate methane at a dairy in Georgia. The tan-colored digester is 16 feet deep.
Farm to Energy: Anaerobic Digestion
The Agriculture Workgroup sponsored a field tour to the Wright Family Dairy in Baxley, GA. The dairy, which milks over 1000 cows per day, has the only operational anaerobic digester at an animal operation in Georgia. The dairy barns are flushed daily and the manure is sent to the anaerobic digester. The digestion process produces methane gas. The gas powers a generator to make electricity that is sold to a local utility. The digested material is pathogen free and is passed through a screw press to produce bedding material for the dairy barns. Liquids removed by the screw press are used to flush the barns.
Carbon Offset Initiative for Swine Producers in North Carolina
- Region 4 is funding a project to:
- identify the best type of organization to work with swine growers to aggregate their carbon offsets,
- identify methods to verify high quality carbon offsets, and
- provide outreach and education to growers about carbon offset technologies.
Strategic Agriculture Initiative (SAI)
- Region 4 provides grant funding related to the Food Quality Protection Act for projects to state and non-profit organizations and seeks partnerships with many diverse groups.
- SAI grants funded by Region 4 emphasize the use and study of reduced risk pesticides and alternatives to pesticide use.
Environmental Management Systems (EMSs) for Agriculture
- Region 4 is providing grant funding to the North Carolina Pollution Prevention and Environmental Assistance Division to assist pork producers in developing EMSs for their farms.
- The University of Georgia has been actively engaged in environmental assessments for poultry EMS development. They will continue a similar initiative to involve Georgia dairy farmers in EMS development.
- Perdue Farms will implement an EMS at all of their poultry processing facilities as a part of the Perdue Clean Waters Environmental Initiative.
Resource Conservation Challenge
- Region 4 encourages local communities and sectors to increase recycling and reuse of old cans, bottles, paper products and organics.
- Grant funding was recently provided to the University of Florida to recycle industrial materials such as tomato culls and waste water generated at vegetable packinghouses.
Gulf of Mexico Program
- Region 4 facilitates collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the region
- One program activity that supports agriculture activity in Region 4 is the Conservation Tillage Demonstration Project in Alabama
Clean and Safe Water through Watershed Protection
Priority Watersheds
- Priority watersheds are located in each of the Region 4 states. Our state and federal partners have agreed to focus a portion of our mutual resources to protect and restore waters in selected priority watersheds.
- Agriculture is a major land use in most of these priority watersheds.
Nonpoint Source Section 319 Grant Program
- Region 4 provides funds to state agencies and tribal governments who work to reduce polluted runoff from diffuse sources. These voluntary projects and programs help to reduce nutrients and sediment in runoff to surface waters from agriculture and urban lands.
- Success stories include Flint River in Alabama, Mills River in North Carolina, Coneross and Beaverdam Creeks in North Carolina and Hinds Creek in Tennessee.
Water Quality Trading
- Region 4 shares information and facilitates future trading by utilizing market-based concepts for water quality improvement.
- Facilities faced with higher water treatment costs can purchase equivalent, or greater, pollutant reduction from point or nonpoint sources with lower treatment costs. Agriculture lands are often targeted in some water quality trading activities.
Environmental Justice Farmers' Initiative
- Collaborate with federal, state and local agriculture partners to reach out to minority and low-income farmers. Help them implement Best Management Practices that are profitable, sustainable and improve water quality on impaired stream segments.