Rob Schnabel from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation will be joining the Soil Health And Regenerative Agriculture class (GFI 2034) as a guest speaker.  Rob was instrumental in putting together the network of mentors that helped me on my regenerative journey and is a passionate advocate for soil health as a Bay restoration strategy. Anyone is welcome to join this guest lecture! 

Rob Schnabel - Bio
Rob Schnabel is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) Maryland Restoration Scientist and has been working with CBF since 2000.  He works throughout the region leading CBF’s conservation initiatives on Farms, meeting one on one with farmers to understand their farming goals, providing technical assistance and funding through agency and private sources.  He promotes regenerative agriculture as a key solution to our water, climate, biodiversity and farming profitability woes.  
Rob builds collaborative networks and is the co-coordinator of the Maryland Grazers Network, a partnership of MD Extension, CBF, NRCS and grazing farmer mentors, to increase profit in grazing systems, regenerate soils and improve water quality.  The Maryland Network was expanded Bay-wide to the Mountains to Bay Grazers Alliance in 2016 where Rob is a member of the steering committee.  The Grazers Alliance coordinates outreach and education to farmers and has conducted research on soil improvements through regenerative grazing with associated ecosystem services.  For 15+ years Rob has helped create “The Consumer’s Guide to Pasture-Based Meats and Dairy”, an annual calendar designed to increase consumer demand for local, grass-based products.
 Rob developed legislative goals for new regenerative practices within the Maryland Agriculture Cost Share (MACS) program, giving testimony and assembling a panel of farmers for House and Senate hearings.  Legislation passed resulting in 10 new regenerative practices including grazing systems and agroforestry practices.
Rob participates in Federal and State workgroups and shares hands-on experience and relevant farmer examples to inform decision making and improve conservation programs. Workgroups include the Bay Program Forestry workgroup, MD NRCS State Tech Committee, MD CREP Team and the MD DNR Stream Releaf team. NRCS has recently mandated that 25% of federal funds go to regenerative farming systems.
Rob advocates for diversity, equity and inclusion in the agricultural community and manages CBF’s outreach to the Maryland and Washington D.C. BIPOC community.  This advocacy played a role in MD Extension increasing technical assistance from one to three staff members focused on urban agriculture and the State starting a Small Farms Conservation Program, which provides funding to farmers that had previously been excluded.

Rob was a Board member and VP of the Board for Future Harvest, a regenerative agriculture farming organization, for 7 years. He currently sits on the Board of Mobilize Frederick, leading agriculture initiatives in Maryland’s largest agriculture County. Rob attended Hood College in the 1990’s majoring in Environmental Science and History.  In his spare time, Rob is working with his neighbors in Annapolis to open a community owned Food Cooperative store with the goal of providing healthy food from local farmers and recycling food dollars within the community.