Growing “community” at the Food Council meet-up!

With all the methods of communication available to use today, one would think that we are well-connected. Not so! I suspect that our rural country stores a century ago provided a better opportunity for meeting and communicating with a broader range of community...

Is Maryland agriculture turning the corner?

On May 2nd, the USDA will finally release the full 2012 Census of Agriculture. Such news still matters in Maryland. Despite being the fifth most densely populated state in the union, Maryland still has over two million acres of farmland and agriculture generates an...

And does a tenant house go with that farm lease?

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...

For farm sales, no web page is like . . .no phone!

Those who know Ginger Myers know that she is engaging and knowledgeable, but no nonsense. At the Producer’s Digital Toolbox class in Prince Frederick on April 15th, she noted that farmers who sell a product directly to consumers really need a website, and that...

Saving Farming, not just farmland – Part 2

Last week, I wrote that I would be attending the 2014 Maryland Land Preservation Conference and I promised to write a followup as a result of the session. The trip gave me the opportunity to visit one of my favorite Maryland towns (Frederick) and to accept an...