Post-Tobacco Visions: Gourmet Veggies or Lumber?

Source from:  By Christy Goodman Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, March 6, 2008 03/07/2008

As commercial farming and development continue to squeeze small farms out of the picture and the first wave of growers who participated in the tobacco buyout are nearing the expiration of their annual payments, Calvert officials are trying to plan for the county's agricultural future. "I think it is an exciting time to be looking at local farming opportunities," said Greg Bowen, head of the county's Department of Planning and Zoning, who cited the growing trend in supporting local farms and the rising cost of transporting food long distances as gas prices increase. "These national and global changes, I think, are going to create opportunities for farmers, and the county can assist them through the planning process." Bowen presented a plan to the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday that encourages more farmers markets in town centers, increases marketing of local producers and recommends working with regional and state leaders to create food cooperatives, educational programs for farmers and alternative approaches to health regulations for small-scale operations. The commissioners agreed unanimously to move forward with the planning. "I wanted to get going on it yesterday," said Commissioner Susan Shaw (R-Huntingtown). Commissioner Barbara A. Stinnett (D-At Large) said she supports the plan but wants to ensure that farmers take the lead. "The more regulations we make, the harder it is for them to stay alive." The county worked with local farmers and regional agricultural organizations to develop the basics of the plan. When tobacco buyout payments end, "there is going to be a big problem," said Walter Wells, owner of Taney Place Farm in Prince Frederick and president of the Calvert Farm Bureau. "A lot of these old farmers have children who aren't interested in farming, and I'm afraid they are going to sell. . . . The tobacco buyout was to help them hold on for a while. It isn't something they can live off of." Funded by money from Maryland's share of the national tobacco litigation settlement, the state buyout program was designed to help former growers transition away from the crop. Tobacco farmers who agreed to stop growing the plant were eligible for annual payments based on their average yields in the last years of their tobacco production. The market value of farm products in Calvert County declined from $7 million in 1978 to $3.2 million in 2002, Bowen said. Farm acreage declined from 52,000 acres to a little more than 32,000 during the same period, he said. "In 1980, 37 cents for every consumer dollar was spent on food. In 1998, [food] only got 23 cents," said Bowen, citing "A Time to Act," a 1998 report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Commission on Small Farms. Wells has been working to establish a Young Farmers group in the county. He said farmers' main concerns were getting a nearby slaughterhouse to process locally raised livestock and the rising cost of health insurance. There also is a need for a nearby grain mill, Bowen said. "The Eastern Shore has chickens. If we had something like that, that would be great," Wells said. "We are just sitting back and seeing what is going to happen. I don't know if [the commissioners] can come up with anything, but at least they are trying." Wells suggested that the county Department of Economic Development help attract a processing business for which local farmers could produce a crop, in addition to what they grow for local produce and meat markets. Carolyn Anderson, who with her husband owns the 170-acre Poplars Farm in Chesapeake Beach, said they began in 1975 as tobacco farmers and have shifted to timber. She said the county could help market her logs and support a local mill. Calvert farmers often have to jump hurdles to get state and federal loans, said Jim Bourne, who owns the 145-acre Shady Hill Farm off Bourne Road in Owings. He suggested the county offer low-interest loans to farmers. "We could keep local tax dollars here to keep things sustainable," he said. Bourne is converting the cattle operation he inherited from his father into a vegetable farm. He has adopted the Community Supported Agriculture model, marketing produce to area residents, who buy a share of the farm's crops from May to September. He also has agreements with restaurants that will buy his produce. Chefs and managers at the eateries want to tap into the trend of "buying local," he said. "People are very concerned about where their food is coming from," Bourne said. Getting citizens involved is crucial to making the county's agriculture plan successful, said Bowen, who would like to raise awareness by converting county property into a 1950s-era model farm for residents and school groups to visit. Commissioner Linda L. Kelley (R-At Large) said the county can build the framework and offer support, but the "farmers have to meet us halfway . . . if not, we are spinning our wheels with this." Enditem