This week sure is the week of farm conferences and events! We will report on some of them in the coming weeks, but this week we’ve revived a series of posts on “Saving family farms in Maryland”. The series addresses many of the challenges and...
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...
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...
Last week, I might have been one of a few people excited to see that Montgomery County had adopted new zoning regulations. I realize that ordinances are not fun to read. However, I see them as a window into the future land use patterns of a jurisdiction. Like them or...
Many people have dismissed the local food movement as a fad that will soon pass, saying that there are too many challenges for small and medium sized Maryland farmers to compete in the global economy. That opinion might change as more local, regional, and national...
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...
