{"id":29669,"date":"2026-03-23T09:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=29669"},"modified":"2026-03-23T09:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T13:48:28","slug":"marylands-best-seeks-ice-cream-locations-for-2026-ice-cream-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2026\/03\/23\/marylands-best-seeks-ice-cream-locations-for-2026-ice-cream-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland\u2019s Best Seeks Ice Cream Locations for 2026 Ice Cream Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Maryland\u2019s Best Seeks Ice Cream Locations for 2026 Ice Cream Trail<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Applications Due by April 10, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 23, 2026)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Maryland\u2019s Best, Maryland\u2019s state-wide marketing program connecting consumers to producers, is seeking Maryland ice cream locations with on-farm creameries or locally-sourced milk to join the 2026 Maryland\u2019s Best Ice Cream Trail<\/em><\/strong>. The Maryland\u2019s Best Ice Cream Trail supports Maryland dairy farmers by highlighting locations that are on-farm or are using locally-sourced milk for their product, which supports the overall dairy industry. Consumers are encouraged to download a free digital pass to track their adventures and be entered to win the ultimate prize of \u201cMaryland\u2019s Best Ice Cream Trailblazer Champion<\/strong><\/em>\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Maryland\u2019s Best Ice Cream Trail is expanding its definition to encourage more of our local ice cream shops to utilize local milk in their products,\u201d said Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks<\/strong>. \u201cWe encourage all Marylanders and visitors to check out the trail, visit the on-farm creameries, and support the ice cream shops that support Maryland farmers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Farm and business participation eligibility has expanded to include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n

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  1. \n

    Creameries that are on an existing Maryland farm and use milk they produce on-farm; or<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Creameries that are on an existing Maryland farm and use an ice cream mix from a milk processor that benefits Maryland dairy farms; or<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Non-farm creamery locations that use an ice cream mix from a milk processor that benefits Maryland dairy farms.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Those interested in joining this year\u2019s Ice Cream Trail should fill out this form<\/a> and be prepared to submit invoices proving proof of purchase from a local processor that benefits Maryland dairy farms by April 10 at 5:00 pm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Additionally, dairy farms that sell other products are encouraged to participate in state-wide dairy promotions this summer. Any dairy farm in Maryland that is making a value-added product, such as cheese, yogurt, or milk, can apply to be highlighted by the program during upcoming promotions. Applications<\/a> are also due by April 10 at 5:00 pm.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Questions? Potential participants may reach out to Maryland\u2019s Best Director of Special Projects, Kristin Hanna, at kristin.hanna@maryland.gov<\/a> or visit Maryland’s Best.net.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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    # # #\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Maryland\u2019s Best Seeks Ice Cream Locations for 2026 Ice Cream Trail Applications Due by April 10, 2026 \u00a0 ANNAPOLIS, MD (March 23, 2026)\u00a0\u2013 Maryland\u2019s Best, Maryland\u2019s state-wide marketing program connecting consumers to producers, is seeking Maryland ice cream locations with on-farm creameries or locally-sourced milk to join the 2026 Maryland\u2019s Best Ice Cream Trail. The  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"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":[403,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29669","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mda-newsroom","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29669","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\/251"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29670,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29669\/revisions\/29670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}