Governor Martin O’Malley, First Lady Katie O’Malley and their children kicked off their family holiday festivities by visiting Pine Valley Farms, a 100-acre Carroll County family farm, and cutting their own fresh, local Christmas tree.
Click here for more details.

This year anyone buying a tree from a member of the Maryland Christmas Tree Association can win a trip City of Riga, Latvia, to draw attention to the 500th anniversary of the first decorated tree in Latvia and Maryland Christmas tree farms

Maryland boasts more than 200 tree farms statewide with nearly 3,000 acres in active production. Last year, Maryland Christmas tree growers harvested 77,800 trees in 2007 valued at $2.4 million. Tree planting, shearing and mowing can take up to 65 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. Click here for more fun facts. Click here to find a tree farm near you.

The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation (MALPF) won an important victory in the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland against a landowner who violated the terms of his preservation easement by subdividing and selling a parcel of preserved farmland.  In the case of Paul F. Stitzel v. State of Maryland, Judge Meredith affirmed (Case No. 1017) an earlier decision by the Circuit Court of Washington County (case #21-C-06-25292DJ) that held that Mr. Stitzel’s conveyance of the parcel was null and void.

On Jan. 8, 2002, Stitzel accepted $570,230 in state farmland preservation funds and agreed to never develop or subdivide 264 acres of agricultural land.  On Sept. 9, 2005, Stitzel sold 15.91 acres of the protected land with an existing home for $370,000 to a third party who was unaware of the easement.  Judge Meredith upheld the Circuit Court decision that ordered Stitzel to payback the purchaser of the property the entire purchase price plus all legal and other fees incurred during the case.  Stitzel has appealed the case to the state Court of Appeals.

MALPF purchases development rights when landowners voluntarily agree to sell legally binding easements on prime, productive farmland to permanently protect land with the richest soils from development and subdivision.  MALPF’s victory in this case is important because it legally reinforces the stated purpose of the program, public financial investment and the legal agreements that landowners sign to forever protect their farmland.

Since 1977, MALPF has permanently preserved nearly 285,000 acres of prime farmland for farming with a public investment of nearly $600 million. Together with local governments, nearly 550,000 acres of farmland are protected.

MDA is working with Maryland Christmas Tree Growers this holiday season to prevent the spread of the pine shoot beetle.  Currently nine Maryland counties are under quarantines for an imported pest of pine trees that could hurt production and trade of pine products in areas where it is introduced. The quarantines restrict the movement of cut pine Christmas trees and other pine products out of quarantined areas.

MDA has developed informational signs and tags for growers in the nine quarantined counties to put on their pine trees where they may be seen before customers select their tree.  There is no restriction on the movement of other types of Christmas trees, such as spruce and fir.

The goal is to help growers and customers learn how to help prevent the spread of the pine shoot beetle to other areas of Maryland or other states through unintentional illegal movement of natural pine Christmas trees and holiday products.

Click here for more information on the pine shoot beetle quarantine in Maryland.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call 410-841-5920.

On a separate note: stink bugs could be nestled in Christmas trees. Be sure to shake trees outside to remove insects and other debris before bringing them in.

MDA collected 20 tons of empty pesticide containers for recycling in 2010. The free program encourages proper disposal to help protect the Chesapeake Bay preventing pesticide residues from entering the soil and local waterways and has saved valuable landfill space by recycling more than 657,000 empty pesticide containers

MDA offers empty pesticide container recycling programs for farmers, golf courses, government agencies and commercial applicators.  This program is paid for through special fund revenues collected from licensing and certification fees and through pesticide product registration fees.

For the past 17 years, MDA’s Pesticide Regulation Program has operated an empty pesticide plastic container inspection and collection program open to the public. The containers are collected, chipped, processed and remanufactured into new pesticide containers. Click here for more details.

Start the year off right by incorporating eco-friendly practices into your holiday celebrations!  Some simple ways to having a healthy and green winter include:

• recycle or reuse your tree instead of sending it to the land fill after the holidays,
• consider using non-toxic de-icing substances, and
• save fire place ashes for your compost. 

And if you go out to eat, you can still go green – according to the National Restaurant Association, the hottest trends for 2011 will include local and hyper-local sourcing, healthy children’s meals, sustainable seafood, and locally-produced wine and beer. For other great ways to go green, click here.

Frostburg, Md., native and outdoor enthusiast now living in Laurel, Ed Payne started his MDA employment with the Weights and Measures Section in 1983 after two years of service at the State Highway Administration.  Working to assure fairness in the marketplace for almost 30 years at MDA is not what he might have imagined he’d be doing while he was studying wildlife management at Garrett College and the University of Maryland after high school.  “I’ve liked the work and the people and it’s all been interesting,” Payne says of his MDA employment.

Starting as an entry level Agricultural Technician I, Ed spent his first eight years as a general inspector in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties testing the accuracy of equipment to ensure that consumers get what they pay for at the gas pump, in the grocery store and in other businesses where products are sold by weight or measure.  In 1991, Ed shifted jobs and started inspecting heavy capacity, industrial scales in Central Maryland such as vehicle scales used a weigh stations and by the State Police and floor scales used by freight, moving or storage companies.  By 1995, he was supervising the Weights and Measure’s industrial scale inspection program.  At that time, there were five inspectors in the program; today there are just two.

In 2009, Payne moved from the field in to the MDA headquarters office to take on a new challenge – managing the National Type Evaluation Program (NTEP). Maryland’s NTEP program is one of just three or four in the nation that are authorized to evaluate and approve all weighing and measuring devices used in commerce in the United States and Canada.  Unlike his previous jobs, running the NTEP program can involve a great deal of travel and evaluating wider variety of equipment. One week he could be travelling overseas to test equipment that a foreign company wants to use or sell in the United States but is too unwieldy to ship to MDA offices. The next week he could be in the office testing the function and accuracy of a new computer program that will control a particular scale.

Throughout his tenure at MDA, Ed has gained the respect of his co-workers and the businesses he regulates by being tough but fair.  “The equipment has to be right,” he says in no uncertain terms. Consumers and businesses alike count on this kind of commitment to regulatory accuracy so that the marketplace operates fairly to all.

In their spare time, Ed and Gloria, his partner of 18 years, raise Akita dogs, spend time at their home in Western Maryland near New Germany State Park, and ponder their next trip to the Pacific Northwest, one of their favorite places.  Ed likes hunt, fish, hike and generally enjoy the outdoors; perfect pastimes for someone who once studied wildlife management and who has excelled at an unrelated but rewarding career.

This Year, Buy a Real, Fresh Christmas Tree!
Support Maryland Farmers, Buy Local

The holiday season is a wonderful time of year to support Maryland agriculture through the purchase of farm-fresh products for decorations around the home, unique gifts, and locally-produced food and drinks for every holiday feast.  Maryland’s Best is your source to the best locally grown, sustainable and eco-friendly products from Maryland farmers including choose-and-cut or retail operations selling Maryland-grown Christmas trees. The Maryland Christmas Tree Association also publishes a directory of Choose & Cut Farms, which lists dozens of locations across Maryland where families can harvest their own Christmas trees.