This is not your father’s Ag Reserve, new report says

Equine, horticulture and biofuels were found to be the reserve’s latest trends

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Over the past 25 years, the Agricultural Reserve has seen a lot of change. Old ways of farming are being replaced by new methods and new markets, according to a new report by the county’s Park and Planning Department.

The 45-page report is the first of its kind since the ‘‘Future of the Ag Reserve” study was published in the mid-1990s to examine ways of protecting and maintaining the reserve. It provides a window on the businesses and future of the 93,000-acre reserve.

Jeremy Criss, the county’s agricultural services manager, presented the latest document to the Planning Board on June 1.

Planning staff spent three months interviewing farmers and farm-related business owners and included their comments in the report. Respondents said that while agricultural land is being lost to development, the equine and horticulture industries are likely to thrive.

In 2002 (the last time there was a census of the Ag Reserve), the county produced $125.3 million in horticulture sales. The county’s equine industry is valued at $84.8 million.

One of the reserve’s new trends stems from the interest in biofuels, which could replace gasoline as a fuel for cars and trucks.

‘‘They are looking for things that could provide opportunities,” said John Zawitoski, director of planning and promotion for agricultural services. ‘‘The greatest opportunity is biofuels. ...That is a tremendous opportunity to provide a remarkable energy source.”

William Willard, a Poolesville farm owner, said soybeans could help create biofuels, a more environmentally friendly source of energy. In 2002, the county produced 403,042 bushels of soybeans. The soybeans, which can be crushed into meal for chicken feed, are mainly sold to the poultry industry.

‘‘We need to explore opportunities for traditional crops to be used for biofuels,” Criss said. ‘‘As we see energy needs increase, we will learn to use the agricultural industry to use crops to create fuels and less dependence on foreign oils.”

While the number of acres being farmed in the Ag Reserve has decreased, there has been a recent increase in the amount of money brought in for the total market value of the agricultural products sold, based on sale of livestock, crops and commodities in a given year. In 2002, the county brought in $4,163,400.

‘‘The Planning Board came away with a better understanding with the positive trends we are seeing in the county,” Criss said in an interview. ‘‘I made sure the Planning Board knows that when we have positive trends we need to emphasize them.”

There is also an increasing demand for foods from the native lands of many immigrants who live in the county, particularly among Hispanics and Asians. While 96 farmers are supplying vegetables and other goods to ethnic groceries, many immigrants want to farm, but they face financial barriers, according to the report.

Still, Criss said, ‘‘I was surprised to see the number of farmers that earn principal income from farming increase from 45 percent to 50 percent. That is good news.”

Farmers also talked about the slow death of traditional farming, the impact of urban sprawl and the possible abuse of child lots, a 1980 provision that allows farmers to build homes for their children.

There have been reports that property owners have been deeding the lots to their children, who in turn sell them as building lots instead of building their homes on the family land. There are no reliable accounts of how many child lots there are in the reserve.