-
2 weeks ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland farmers and agricultural haulers will soon have greater flexibility once again to move their products more efficiently, thanks to a new state law signed this month by Gov. Wes Moore. A bill, approved by the General Assembly in April, revises the state’s exceptional hauling permit program to allow heavier trucks carrying farm products to use more direct routes and simplify their operations.
-
2 weeks ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
GEORGETOWN, Del. — Fruit growers across Delaware are beginning to see the consequences of a hard freeze that swept through the region on April 9, leaving behind varying levels of damage to peaches, plums, apples, pears and strawberries.
-
3 weeks ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Funding for the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission has been restored after regional lawmakers pushed back against a proposal to phase out the agency’s state support over the next four years. The budget originally submitted by Gov. Wes Moore’s administration included steep cuts to SMADC, slashing $250,000 annually from its $1 million allocation through fiscal year 2029.
-
3 weeks ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
STAFFORD, Va. — A Virginia beekeeper is recovering from the loss of nearly half a million honeybees after a suspected act of sabotage left his 5-acre property littered with dead pollinators and locked behind a heavy steel chain. Jerry Mattiaccio, owner of Rock Hill Honey Bee Farms, discovered the chain and padlock sealing off his gate on April 13. By the following morning, after cutting his way through with help from his staff, he found a grim scene: bee carcasses carpeting the grass.
-
4 weeks ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
BALTIMORE — A New Jersey-based transmission developer is seeking a federal court order to access more than 100 private properties, including farms and other agricultural operations, in northern Maryland for environmental fieldwork tied to a controversial high-voltage power line project. PSEG filed a motion this week for a preliminary injunction that would allow it temporary access to farmland, woodlots and rural properties along the planned 67-mile Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project.
-
1 month ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — As lawmakers scrambled to pass a $67 billion state budget before the General Assembly’s April 7 deadline, Maryland’s farming community left Annapolis with guarded optimism after months of budget brinkmanship and policy fights. Faced with a $3.3 billion deficit, the legislature passed a budget loaded with more than $1.6 billion in new taxes and fees — changes that drew sharp criticism from Republicans but allowed lawmakers to avoid deep cuts to many state programs.
-
1 month ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
WOODSBORO, Md. — Dramatic budgetary cuts to two federal programs that have supported Maryland farms are sending ripples through the agricultural community, and Emma Jagoz, the owner of Moon Valley Farm in Frederick County, is feeling the weight of those changes. Jagoz, a first-generation farmer, has provided fresh, locally grown produce to school systems across Maryland for years through the USDA’s Farm to School program and its Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program.
-
1 month ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. — Howard County officials opened a new Office of Agriculture late last month at West Friendship Park, establishing the county’s first government office focused on farming and rural issues. It is the third such office in Maryland.
-
1 month ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
Layoffs at the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service are straining local agricultural services in Maryland and Delaware and could leave farmers with fewer resources and longer wait times for critical conservation programs, officials said. The cuts have reduced staff in field offices and may slow the processing of contracts and payments while creating uncertainty for conservation districts that work closely with NRCS.
-
2 months ago | 
americanfarm.com | Jonathan Cribbs
DOVER, Del. — The Delaware Department of Agriculture published proposed regulations for raw milk production and sales on March 1, one of the final steps before farmers can join the newly legalized market. The rules govern animal health, water and milk testing, packaging and consumer notification and other regulatory components of raw milk production, which was legalized last year amid a push by advocates to spread legalization efforts in state legislatures nationwide.
