Gov. Martin O?Malley wants to keep homes on the range.
Expressing a desire to keep farmers on their property and preserve land, O?Malley has signed four bills since he took office in January to champion the cause. Most recently, he signed legislation removing a five-year waiting period for a farm to be permanently preserved through the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.
And with 372,650 acres of farmland in the Baltimore region, the preservation of farms and the $1.3 billion agriculture industry is a growing concern.
“Agriculture is one of the best alternatives to development, and if you have a profitable [market], you can keep the land and get a much better landscape,” said Roger Richardson, secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture. “Farmland and proper farming practices really do protect and help the environment. The governor has gone way out of his way to help.”
Preservation legislation O?Malley enacted includes House Bill 1386, which allows family farm partnerships to use the homestead tax credit; HB 1041 and 1354, which promote farmland preservation through a Critical Farms funding mechanism; and HB 1331, which repeals the waiting period.
“When our farm businesses are profitable, the next generation will see farming as a viable career opportunity, and Maryland will preserve its open space and locally grown food industry,” O?Malley said.
While these bills help preserve the land, O?Malley also passed legislation to help farm practices.
HB 420 allows milk carriers to haul more weight, and HB 685 permits the production of cheese on-site. These are boons for several local counties that are big milk producers. Carroll County sells more than $21,600 in milk annually, while Harford sells about $8,500 and Howard slightly less than $2,500, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.
“It?s challenging to be farming in [the Baltimore region] partly because of land prices and the development that is around,” said Dave Martin, extension director for the Baltimore County Office of the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension. He added that “paying to move equipment and other various kinds of farm operations in a highly urban area can be expensive.”
