Maryland Department of Agriculture News

What a year so far. An historic snow storm was followed by a drought.  Buy local campaigns are taking off in stores, restaurants, institutions and schools across the state.  Corn crops withered while farmers signed up for a record 502,000 acres of cover crops to plant this fall to take up any nutrients that the corn couldn’t use.  Insect pests such as bed bugs and brown marmorated stink bugs are wreaking havoc on residents and farmers.

Meanwhile, there is great support growing for farmers in some corners while lawsuits against farmers are emerging in others.  Working together with farmers and other interested parties, Governor Martin O’Malley and I are seeking solutions to these challenges and building on the opportunities and are working hard to let our non-farming neighbors know what good stewards of the land farmers are.  Our farms and farmland are some of this state’s greatest assets. We are doing what we can, even in these difficult times, to strengthen agriculture and move it toward a smart, green and growing future.

As this newsletter is published, USDA is assessing crop damage as requested by Governor O’Malley in August.  If there is 30 percent or more crop loss, USDA Secretary Vilsack will issue a Secretarial Disaster Designation to help farmers recover from those losses.  I have no doubt that some areas will exceed that threshold.   To make up for these losses, to take up an nutrients left behind, to prevent soil erosion this fall, and to add organic matter to the soil in the spring farmers have signed up for and MDA has approved a record number or cover crops to be planted this fall.  Governor O’Malley made this announcement in August along with over $600,000 in federal grant funding to use geospacial imagery to assess the effectiveness and use of cover crops. Locally made and grown foods were provided by Shore Gourmet, a new enterprise in Talbot County that is marketing local products.

A day later, Governor O’Malley met with poultry companies and farmers to understand their greatest concerns and to see what innovations are on the horizon with which the state could help or pursue.  He expressed concern about the lawsuit facing the Hudson family and offered that if one university can sue a farmer pro bono, there ought to be another to defend them free of charge.  We are pursuing this idea along with the use of Agri-recycle pellets on state owned land in place of any commercial fertilizer being used; a new technology that would wash phosphorus from poultry litter; and new technologies for chicken houses.

I ask that everyone pay attention to  the new EPA total maximum daily load (TMDL) watershed implementation plans (WIPs).  These are the plans that will implement the “pollution diet” laid out by EPA.  Everyone resident in Maryland has a stake in this.  New actions will need to be taken to meet this Bay restoration plan.

On another note, we are pleased to say that Maryland is not impacted by the nationwide egg recall.  MDA’s Food Quality Assurance staff are often the unsung heroes of situations like these. It seems that good news does not draw the attention that bad news does.  Our staff, as well as our egg producers, work hard to make sure that the product reaching your table is wholesome and meets all the regulatory standards. Maryland has an outstanding record of food safety, thanks to the hard work of MDA staff, our food processors and our farmers.

Don’t forget. With fall comes apples, pumpkins and lots of opportunity for family fun on a growing number of agri-tourism farms.  Enjoy the beautiful weather and support our farmers.  With a strong agricultural industry, we keep land open and productive, provide a local food supply, keep jobs in Maryland, and preserve the environment for the benefit of future generations of Marylanders.

Thank you,
Buddy Hance
Secretary

Governor Announces Record Cover Crop Enrollment Maryland farmers have enrolled a record number of cover crops this year announced Governor Martin O’Malley, joined by MDA Secretary Buddy Hance on Aug. 19.  Maryland has approved a record 502,323 acres of winter grains in the Cover Crop Program, which was requested by a record 1,688 farmers. This represents 155 percent of the 2-year Bay milestone for cover crops.  Click here for more details.

Agricultural leaders, local farmers and local elected officials
gathered for the event, which was held at a farm in Cordova (Talbot County).  The announcements were followed by
locally-grown and made refreshments from producers associated with Shore
Gourmet.