Maryland Planning Blog

MD Sustainable Growth Commission Award Celebrates Great Projects – Apply Now for 2015

So. Maryland, So Good… brands southern Maryland local products

Former Southern Maryland tobacco growers have diversified, branching out into raising organic produce and nursery crops, hosting tourist events and growing grapes for wine. Their So. Maryland, So Good slogan, presence at farmers markets, direct-to-consumer sales points and Buy Local week events have contributed to a newly thriving market for farmers in Anne Arundel, Calvert, Charles, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties.

The resurgence of the area’s agricultural industry is due to the efforts of the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC), formed in 2000 to help farmers transition from their traditional cash crop with federal tobacco buyout funds. SMADC’s successes won it a 2014 growth award from the Sustainable Growth Commission, which recognized the organization along with seven other awardees at its annual award ceremony and forum last February.

About the Maryland Sustainable Growth Award

The commission is now seeking nominations for the 2015 awards program, with a deadline of September 19. Marylanders who have a track record of leadership or projects advancing smart growth or preservation are eligible to apply for the awards. SMADC won in the leadership/service award category, but people and programs also can be nominated for preservation/conservation and smart growth communities.

Winners are recognized at the commission’s 3rd annual awards ceremony in Annapolis in January.

Leadership, Innovation Brings Results

Southern Maryland farmers are supported by SMADC

SMADC’s success in improving the livelihood of farmers, while at the same time feeding a public hungry for locally produced fare, made it a great candidate for a Sustainable Growth Award. Organization leaders call direct market farming the “new face of agriculture.”

One of the goals of the tobacco buy-out program was to offer “funds to preserve land so we would have farms and ag products into the future,” said Christine Bergmark, SMADC executive director.

The tobacco buyout program was designed to provide options to keep farmers farming, and SMADC picked up the charge and ran.

Noting that the organization works in one of the fastest-growing areas in the state, there was a concern that farmers would sell their tobacco acres for development. “One of the things we realized early on is that there is a huge demand for local farm products,” Bergmark said. “We began promotional programs so consumers could find farmers and farmers could find consumers.”

Given the prominence of tobacco farming in Southern Maryland, SMADC staff and commission members had their work cut out for them. “Tobacco was the no. 1 industry in Maryland, so when the buyout program came out, it was going to be a major challenge to encourage farmers to diversify into alternative crops,” said Donna Sasscer, St. Mary’s County agriculture manager and member of the SMADC Commission.

To create the basis to support new farming enterprises, SMADC developed a series of workshops and seminars on subjects like best wine grape varieties for the region or optimal pasture mixes for horses. The organization offers grants to allow farmers to try new ideas as well as training in business development and how to comply with regulations.

A few years ago, Willie Goddard, who raises 20 head of cattle in Leonardtown, sold his animals at a Virginia auction. Today, he processes his beef and takes the frozen, vacuum-packed product back to his farm, a base to sell directly to neighbors, or at farmers markets and restaurants, for greater profit. “SMADC has given us a great opportunity to increase our bottom line,” Goddard said.