Claude Bennett Farm earns Chesapeake Bay award; conservation efforts lauded

The Claude Bennett Farm in Jessup Twp. has earned a 2017 PACD Clean Water Farm Award, for protecting and conserving soil and water, presented by the state as part of the Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Program.
The farm was the first stop of the 2017 Susquehanna County Farm Bureau Legislative Tour held Wednesday, Aug. 9. Claude Bennett and his family were presented with citations from several local elected officials and the county farm bureau.
Farm Bureau Director John Benscoter said, “In soil and water, the PACD Clean Water Farm Award is like earning an Academy Award.”
State Senator Gene Yaw presented Bennett with a citation from the PA Senate. “I like to recognize things that are important to our community and the environment,” Yaw said.
Also a member of the Chesapeake Bay Commission, Yaw said that 50 percent of the fresh water going into the bay comes from Pennsylvania.
He said there are critical problems with nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment reaching the Chesapeake Bay and the EPA is targeting farmers for the fix.
Yaw said it is absolutely critical to keep animals out of the streams. “Claude does. Up here in Susquehanna County, we’ve got that figured out. We effect everything that happens there,” and offered his congratulations on earning the recognition.
Rep. Jonathan Fritz also presented a citation to Bennett on behalf of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Rep. Tina Pickett.
Not only a recipient of the Clean Water Award, the Bennett was also hailed as the county’s Farmer of the Year in 2016.
“Your conservation practices help keep the water clean,” Fritz said. “What you do here everyday is be a steward of your land. This is more than proof that we have a longtime history of looking after mother nature and our environmental resources.”
Susquehanna County Commissioner Alan Hall said, “It is a privilege to recognize a family like yours. We appreciate all the hard work your family has done, it means a lot. Our people do the right thing in Susquehanna County. You’re a leader.”
Susquehanna County Farm Bureau President Donna Williams said she has known Claude for many years.
The Bennett farm, she said, helps support four farm families. “It shows what one land ownership can do,” Williams said. “People in agriculture know what needs to be done.”
Three generations of the Bennett family own 250 acres of farmland, plus another 140 acres of rented hayfield.
Claude farms the land with his son, Terry and daughter-in-law Patti; daughters Brenda Alise, Tammy Lake; and grandson, Josh, along with other family members.
The currently manage 100 head of mostly Angus bee cattle, marketed a sold locally.
Claude has been on the farm since 1953, and it was originally owned by his in-laws, Ralph and Mavis Bunnell. In the early years, he milked 16 cows in an 18 cow barn.
In 2012, the farmers applied for an Environmental Quality Incentive Program contract for technical and financial assistance with the NRCS. Claude and Terry identified areas of concern related to soil, water quality and quantity, nutrient management, forage management and riparian/wildlife concerns.
With plans written by NRCS, the farm received technical and financial help from USDA programs.
Improvements on the farm include a roofed barnyard, roofed manure storage facility, rain gutters, drip lines, water control structures and underground outlet drainage lines.
Ponds, streams and wetland areas have been fences off from livestock.