Strengthening Education and Outreach for Pollution Control in Maryland

1. Strengthen extension and education programs for the adoption of performance-based incentives.
2. Facilitate the adoption of performance-based incentives in the Choptank River watershed.
3. Conduct education and outreach throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

• Understand stakeholder perceptions about performance-based incentives
• Develop extension and education activities for the Chesapeake Bay watershed
• Create a demonstration site for education and outreach in a specified sub-watershed
• Calculate baseline farm-level performance for participating producers
• Offer performance-based incentives to selected participating producers as a pilot-testing of the recommendations developed
• Assist producers in selecting good business decisions for pollution control
• Monitor changes in farm-level environmental performance
• Host field days in the demonstration watershed to educate stakeholders from around the region
• Conduct extension and education activities on performance-based incentives in Maryland and the greater Chesapeake Bay watershed
• Assess project impacts through on-going internal evaluation