The tenant house may become a key to the future of agriculture in Maryland. Here are the reasons for my surprising conclusion. First, Maryland’s land preservation programs were first developed at a time when farmers needed more land and fewer workers. Successful...
A couple of weeks ago, the USDA released preliminary ag census data for the states. Since 1840, the U.S. government has been conducting censuses of agriculture. Â For the purposes of the ag census, a farm is any agricultural operation that “had $1,000 in sales...
Howard Buffett, son of billionaire Warren Buffett, measures ‘chances’ as growing seasons. In his book “40 Chances: Finding Hope in a Hungry World.â€, he says that most of us have about 40 chances to accomplish our goals in life. The Buffett family is not your...
Recently, I had a member of Maryland FarmLINK call me to protest about the price of farmland that she thought I was posting. She said bluntly, “How do you expect farmers to pay those prices and make a living?” I responded that I don’t post properties...
At the Rural Coalition workshop Transitioning to Organics held on September 24th, Patuxent Riverkeeper Fred Tutman wove a colorful tale of the history of his family farm in Upper Marlboro. He pointed to a “hanging tree†where legend has it that a 19th century...
We Americans are used to seeing larger businesses outperform and consume smaller businesses. That trend is apparent in the agriculture industry, where four corporations control 80% of all meat processing and a just a few control control nearly all the seeds sold for...
