Pennsylvania Resident Named 2013 Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail Blazer; Talbot County Resident Takes Geocache Title

Secretary Hance pulls the winning passport out of an Ag hat!

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Faith Fuhrman of Hannover, PA, who was among the nearly 100 ice cream lovers who visited all eight dairy farms on Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail, has been named the 2013 Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trailblazer by the Maryland Department of Agriculture. She received the honor after Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance pulled her completed Trailblazer passport out of a Maryland’s Best Agriculture baseball cap.

The second place Trail Blazer was Charlie Gallagher of Baltimore City. The 2013 Maryland Geocache Ice Cream Trailblazer is Debra Blades of Easton (Talbot County) and second place is Kristen Bowden of Baltimore City.

“I congratulate all the winners for taking up the challenge and blazing the trail for others to follow,” said Secretary Hance. “I visited each of the creameries myself this summer, and I hope everyone had as wonderful a time as I did visiting the dairies, talking with farmers and enjoying the freshest, best tasting ice cream you can possibly get. The ice cream trail represents just eight of the 483 dairy farms in Maryland. We hope that Marylanders will continue to visit these farms, talk to farmers and learn about agriculture while enjoying Maryland’s best ice cream.”

As the 2013 Ice Cream Trailblazers, Ms. Fuhrman and Ms. Blades will receive a $50 gift certificate to the creamery of their choice; a DVD of The Maryland Harvest, an hour-long documentary about renown Maryland chefs and their partnerships with local farmers; and a copy of the acclaimed cookbook Dishing Up Maryland by Lucie Snodgrass. Second place winners in both divisions will receive the DVD and the cookbook.

Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail, now in its second year, is a network of eight dairy farms in the state that make ice cream on the farm and sell directly to consumers. MDA encouraged Marylanders to pick up an official “Ice Cream Trail Blazer Passport” in May and have it stamped while visiting all eight creameries during the summer. Completed passports were sent to MDA for a chance to win prizes.

Milk and dairy products are Maryland’s third largest agricultural commodity and accounted for more than $182.7 million in farm receipts in 2010.

The eight creameries on the Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail are: Rocky Point Creamery and South Mountain Creamery in Frederick County; Prigel Family Creamery in Baltimore County; Broom’s Bloom Dairy and Keyes Creamery in Harford County; Kilby Cream in Cecil County; Misty Meadows Farm Creamery in Washington County; and Chesapeake Bay Farms in Worcester County. Information on the location of the creameries can be found at www.marylandsbest.net in the “find me local section.”

Although, the competition is over, MDA continues to encourage residents to visit the creameries on the ice cream trail. The geocache portion of the trail is still available.

The Maryland’s Ice Cream Trail was a joint promotion supported by MDA and the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, the local affiliate of the National Dairy Council. Learn more about dairy farming and why “Your Milk Comes from a Good Place” at www.dairyspot.com. MDA also partnered with the Maryland Geocaching Society for the geocache portion of the promotion.

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