Mike Brubaker's family has run their farm near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, since 1929. The family has made it a point of pride to use farming methods that minimize environmental impact and also provide income. So the Brubakers considered it only natural to venture into another innovative idea for helping both their wallets and the land. In 2007, their farm operation became one of the first in the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed to enter into a deal for what is called water quality trading. A local wastewater treatment authority paid them to plant cover crops and follow other practices to reduce nitrogen runoff that could harm the Bay. Deals like this between cities and farmers may benefit both and lower the costs of cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay. So why are there so few trades? Economists have studied the obstacles and how to balance the dual goals of improving water quality in the Bay while lowering cleanup costs.   more . . .

After the dramas of wartime, William J. Hargis, Jr. decided to focus his life onquiet, detailed, some would say esoteric, research: collecting fish, isolating parasites, preparing slides, and staring endlessly into microscopes so he could give each parasite its proper name. All his work got him a name and his name got him a job that brought him back to his home state in 1955 when the Virginia Fisheries Laboratory in Gloucester Point decided to hire a parasitologist. Four years later, his work and his charisma got him a better job: director of this small Bayside laboratory, where he would grow a lab and apply science to public policy.   more . . .

Maryland is supporting three Knauss Marine Policy Fellows in 2014 to work for federal agencies on issues involving marine and coastal resources. Tammy Newcomer Johnson, Seth Sykora-Bodie, and Emily Tewes all studied at the University System of Maryland.   more . . .

Food scientist Chengchu (Cathy) Liu has been appointed as the new seafood technology specialist for the Maryland Sea Grant College Program. Liu will provide leadership in outreach service and education for the Maryland seafood industry and consumers. more . . .