ANNAPOLIS, MD (Dec. 17, 2009) \u2013 The 2010 Policy Choices Survey by the University of Baltimore Schaefer Center for Public Policy found that 78 percent of Marylanders are more likely to buy produce that is identified as having been grown by a Maryland farmer. Further supporting agriculture, a full 94 percent of those surveyed said that it is at least \u201csomewhat important\u201d that the state preserve land for farming. The results were consistent with last year\u2019s survey, showing steady support for Maryland agriculture.\u00a0 Additionally the survey revealed increased understanding of the impact of stormwater runoff from urban areas, runoff from residential areas and lawns, and growth and development as major threats to the Bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsumer response to this survey is good news for Maryland farmers,\u201d said Governor Martin O\u2019Malley.\u00a0 \u201cThe results show that Marylanders understand that preserving farmland and buying locally are essential to keeping Maryland smart, green and growing.\u00a0 This knowledge helps our efforts to protect and strengthen our growing middle class, our family owned farms and businesses, while restoring the health of the environment, especially the Chesapeake Bay, for all to enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sustainable agriculture strengthens rural economies, keeps land open and in production rather than being developed, and protects natural resources and the local food supply.\u00a0 Through decades of installing on-farm best practices and centuries of working the land, farmers are some of Maryland\u2019s strongest conservationists. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is nothing more important to a farmer than healthy, productive land and water,\u201d said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance. \u201cFarmers can\u2019t make a living or provide the healthy food, scenic farms and strong quality of life that consumers want if they don\u2019t protect our natural resources. This survey indicates public support for farming and the funding needed for farmers to continue taking the strongest environmental protection measures. It also reveals that consumers understand that there are multiple sources of Chesapeake Bay degradation.\u201d<\/p>\n For Maryland and the other Bay watershed states, all sources will need to reduce pollutant load levels to meet water quality standards mandated through President Obama\u2019s Executive Order on Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration. One of the greatest challenges to Bay restoration is continued population growth and development and its associated stormwater runoff, which is now the fastest-growing source of pollution to the Bay.<\/p>\n The telephone survey of 815 adult Marylanders also found that residents are concerned about the environment, but did not delve into their understanding of the environmental pressures.\u00a0 Industrial discharge (86%) and sewage treatment plants (76%) were perceived to pose the most serious threats to the health of the Bay.\u00a0 Sixty-six percent of those surveyed identified farm runoff as having a major impact on the Bay while 61 percent said stormwater runoff from urban areas was a major impact.\u00a0 Fifty-seven percent saw growth and development as a major threat (up from 50% last year) while 44 percent thought runoff from residential lawns and backyards was a major threat to the Bay (up from 31% last year). Additionally, 38 percent of respondents saw automobile emissions as a major threat (down from 46 % last year).<\/p>\n The Maryland Department of Agriculture has participated in the Schaefer Center Policy Choices Survey since 2002 to gauge public opinion about a number of farming issues and consumer preferences. The telephone survey is conducted annually.\u00a0 The 2010 survey has a margin of error of +\/- 3.43 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.<\/p>\n Over the years that MDA has participated in the survey, support for farmland preservation has risen as has consumer desire for local products.\u00a0 The identification of sources of impacts to the Bay has remained steady.\u00a0 More information about and results from the survey can be found online at http:\/\/scpp.ubalt.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" ANNAPOLIS, MD (Dec. 17, 2009) \u2013 The 2010 Policy Choices Survey by the University of Baltimore Schaefer Center for Public Policy found that 78 percent of Marylanders are more likely to buy produce that is identified as having been grown by a Maryland farmer. Further supporting agriculture, a full 94 percent of those surveyed said Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-1062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release","tag-maryland-farmers"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1062"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1063,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1062\/revisions\/1063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarylanders are also concerned about environmental impacts<\/em><\/p>\n