A large part of the Rockingham County Fair is the agriculture exhibits. Some Chesapeake Bay fisherman got more than a first-hand experience.

Watermen toured farms in the Valley this week, learning what farmers are doing, because ultimately it is affecting the waterways. This week, watermen and Valley farmers worked together, focusing on cleaning up the Bay.

"Is this fenced off so that cattle can't get in there where the stream would be?" asks Tommy Leggett, a waterman and member of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Leggett took the opportunity to learn how dairy farmer Kevin Craun manages his 850-acre farm. Leggett says what farmers are doing on their land in the Shenandoah Valley is affecting the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

"So, that's probably one of the biggest challenges, is to get more and more farmers to realize the benefits of how not only it will affect water quality in the bay, but he's implemented some practices that are actually improving his bottom line," says Leggett.

Craun says, "Improving the qualities of the soils, or improving the production of the dairy cattle, improving the health or cleanliness of these dairy cattle, those are all benefits from the projects that maybe aren't immediate in the monetary benefits, but they are long term benefits."

Craun says taking small steps, such as fencing streams from cattle and having manure management systems won't fix the Bay overnight, but it will eventually help out the watermen in the long-run.

"It's going to take many years to do it. It's something that's doable, but it's going to take a large commitment both financially and from all the user groups and everyone that's involved," says Leggett.

Both farmers and watermen have seen improvements. Now their focus is trying to encourage other farmers to participate in these programs every year to try to clean up the Bay.