Last week, I got to meet a group of Agricultural Marketing Professionals (AMPs) and to follow them on part of their Southern Maryland tour of successful agricultural marketing ventures. I believe that AMPs are essential to the local food movement because of the history and timing of the development of zoning and health regulations in the U.S.
Planning and zoning departments and local health departments did not exist as recently as one hundred years ago. The need for zoning and food health inspectors was a result of the Industrial Revolution, which radically changed land use in America and changed what we ate and the way food was 
prepared.
In agrarian societies of the past, there was little need for zoning or health regulations. All the land uses were similar and the farmers produced, processed and consumed their own food or purchased food from those they knew and trusted. The Industrial Revolution changed all that. Large factories sprung up next to residential areas, commercial businesses created congestion and spilled out onto travel ways. Workers drawn to industry jobs moved to urban centers. Middle and upper-class families sought safer, quieter neighborhoods out in the countryside, creating sprawl. Zoning regulations were developed to promote health, safety and welfare as development occurred.
As to food safety issues, industries began producing chemicals and additives for food to increase shelf life and appeal for processed foods being sold to families who no longer had time to produce and process their own food. Consumer deaths and consumer fraud due to improper food adulterations resulted in the development of the 1906 US Pure Food and Drug Act and eventually the 1938 Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which provided specific authority for factory inspections and established food standards.
According to a report of the Maryland Association of Health Officers, the first local health department in Maryland was created in 1922 and all counties had local departments by 1934. Enforcement of processed food inspections and food handling was eventually handed down to the local health departments which operate somewhat autonomously.
At the time that county planning and zoning departments and local health departments were being established across the country, locally sourced food was being replaced by brilliantly packaged and marketed food products. Highly processed breads, margarine, cheese spreads and cake mixes replaced local staples and were prepared for long shelf life. There was little need for local regulations to address small-scale locally sourced products. They no longer existed.
When the local food movement appeared in the last few decades, the production of value-added items on a farm was not allowed by zoning regulations in most jurisdictions. If they were allowed, then their production was subject to health department standards intended for large-scale factory processing.
Montpelier Farms
A few proactive counties began to hire AMPs to assist farmers in the process of developing value-added production, such as acidified foods, creameries and wineries. Gradually, ag entrepreneurs have been able to re-establish local resource-based farm enterprises. Last week’s AMPs farm tour provided witness to the persistence of the farmers and/or the value of the the AMPs.
I joined the tour briefly on Wednesday to visit Montpelier Farms in Upper Marlboro and discuss zoning and health regulations with the AMPs. Mike and Adrianne Dunn opened their agritourism business in 2008 to provide an outlet for farm products and to give the region’s residents an opportunity to get out on a farm and learn about agriculture. The AMPs and the Dunns discussed the challenges of introducing uses like corn mazes and on-farm events when county regulations don’t address newly emerging uses.
Joe-Sam Swann discusses the farm operation with the AMPs
Thursday morning, I rejoined the group to learn the latest about Swann Farms in Northern Calvert County. It has become one of the largest wholesale vegetable and fruit operations in the region. Joe-Sam Swann discussed the emerging trends in the sale of fresh vegetables and fruits and the growing interest in pick-your-own. He also mentioned the highly successful North Beach Farmers Market, where they sell their products. He noted that market was one of the first in the state to allow the sale of local wine.
My next stop was Chesapeake’s Bounty where Will Kreamer has created a marketing niche 
that is essential for farmers and watermen. His philosophy is sustainable, ecological and hyperlocal. He tries to provide his customers with the best sustainably raised meats, vegetables, fruits and plants that come from the closest farm sources. Likewise, the seafood that he sells comes from Maryland waters in compliance with regulations intended to sustain the harvest for area watermen.
Owner Tal Petty disccuses the production of oysters
Another exciting new farming trend is emerging from the waters. As many are aware, the Chesapeake Bay oyster population has been at less than 1% of historic levels. In recent years, Maryland “oyster farmers” have been raising triploid oysters in cages on the river bottoms with the help and support of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and, in some cases, the Maryland Agricultural and Resource-Based Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO). We visited Hollywood Oyster Company in St. Mary’s County where the team is growing a million oysters this year and as many as 3 million next year.
These are just a few of the exciting projects that the AMPs visited. Each of these businesses has had to deal with zoning and health department issues. Many have benefited from an AMP to help facilitate the development of the business. All of the businesses have created jobs, helped to diversify our local food options and have improved our food security. A mighty good story in the making!