Governor Hogan, Secretary Bartenfelder Kick Off 2019 Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail

Kick-off Event at Chesapeake Bay Farms; Trail Season Opens May 25

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan and Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder kicked off the 2019 season of the Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail today at Chesapeake Bay Farms in Berlin, Md. The Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail officially begins on May 25 and will run through September 23. Now in its seventh year, the trail has become increasingly popular drawing participants from around the world.

“Maryland is home to outstanding dairy operations that provide high-quality, local dairy products to millions of people throughout the region,” said Governor Hogan. “The Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail is a great opportunity for our citizens to learn more about dairy farming. By visiting one of the nine dairies on the Ice Cream Trail, you are helping support Maryland dairy farmers, local producers, and rural communities.”

“What better way to recognize our state’s hard working dairy farmers than by visiting a working Maryland dairy farm and enjoying locally-produced ice cream,” said Secretary Bartenfelder. “Year after year, the Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail continues to grow and educate Marylanders about the important role dairy farming plays in our state’s agriculture industry and the economy. I encourage all Marylanders and those visiting our great state to participate in this year’s Ice Cream Trail.”

The 2019 Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail is made up of nine Maryland dairies that produce and sell their ice cream directly to consumers. The trail stretches more than 290 miles from Worcester County in the east to Washington County in the west. The 2019 Ice Cream Trail dairies are: Prigel Family Creamery (Baltimore), Kilby Cream (Cecil), South Mountain Creamery (Frederick), Rocky Point Creamery (Frederick), Broom’s Bloom Dairy (Harford), Keyes Creamery (Harford), Woodbourne Creamery at Rock Hill Orchard (Montgomery), Misty Meadow Farm Creamery (Washington), and Chesapeake Bay Farms (Worcester).

The purpose of the trail is to increase the public’s understanding of dairy farming and to highlight the important contributions of Maryland’s 355 dairy farms, which accounted for more than $174 million in sales according to the USDA’s 2017 Census of Agriculture.

The Ice Cream Trail Passport is available for download at MarylandsBest.net. Printed copies will also be available at each of the nine creameries throughout the season. Participants should use the passport to keep track of their progress by answering a specific dairy question and receiving a stamp at each creamery on the trail between May 25 and September 23.

Once completed, participants should mail the passport by September 30 to Maryland’s Best Ice Cream – Maryland Department of Agriculture, 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway Annapolis, MD 21401, where it will be entered in a drawing. One lucky winner will be named the 2019 Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail Blazer. The grand prize package will include a $50 gift certificate to the winner’s favorite creamery; a DVD set of the latest season of Maryland Public Television’s Maryland Farm and Harvest; a copy of Lucie Snodgrass’ Dishing Up Maryland cookbook; and, of course, ultimate bragging rights (No purchase necessary)!

Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail is a joint promotion supported by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the American Dairy Association North East. To learn more about dairy farming and the critical role it plays in our region, visit americandairy.com.

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