eastern shore maryland farmland conservation

Author: ESLC

October 23, 2014

Ag secretaries discuss future of farming

EASTON -- All three Delmarva secretaries of agriculture will participate in a panel discussion at Eastern Shore Land Conservancy's 15th Eastern Shore Planning Conference: The Future of Eastern Shore Agriculture. Moderated by radio host Marc Steiner, the conversation will focus on learning from the past and looking to the future. Register now to reserve your seat for this important talk. EARL F. (BUDDY) HANCE Governor Martin O'Malley appointed fourth generation Southern Maryland farmer, Earl F. Hance as secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture in May 2009. He served as deputy secretary of agriculture from February 2007 until May 2009. Prior to these appointments, Buddy Hance served as president of the Maryland Farm Bureau, chairman of the Maryland State Tobacco Authority, and as chairman of the Southern Maryland Agricultural Commission among other farm and community activities. Hance also was active in numerous local, state, and national farm and civic organizations. At the national level, he represented the Northeastern states on the American Farm Bureau Federation and was a member of the Nationwide Insurance Company Board Council. In Maryland, he served as a member of the Rural Maryland Council, the Prince Frederick Volunteer Fire Department, the Patuxent River Commission, the Southern Maryland Tourism Council, the Maryland State Tobacco Authority, the Calvert Farmland Trust, the Board of the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum and the Board of the Calvert County Farm Bureau. A former tobacco farmer, Secretary Hance and his family farm 400 acres of corn and soybeans and operate several commercial greenhouses. Buddy and his wife Robin live in Port Republic, Calvert County and have three children and one grandchild. Ed Kee Ed Kee is a native Delawarean who was born in New Castle and now lives in Sussex County. He has spent his entire career in Delaware Agriculture. Kee began his professional agricultural career as the farm manager

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October 2, 2014

Party to Preserve

October 11, 2014 - October 11, 2014 9790 Tuckahoe Road Map and Directions | Register Description:Owners John and Karen Jaeger lovingly restored Daffin House, the oldest home in Caroline County, to its original character. This farm was preserved forever in 2002 with a conservation easement held by ESLC. The post-and-beam barn is the heart of the farm and our party. Warm yourself by the stone fireplace, enjoy the bluegrass band, and bid on fabulous auction items. Tour the house and stroll the grounds to fully appreciate the importance of this historic property’s preservation. READ MORE ABOUT THIS FARM, FABULOUS AUCTION ITEMS AND MORE! Tickets are $100. Patron ($500, 2 tickets) Sponsor ($750, 2 tickets) Benefactor ($1,000, 2 tickets) Preserver ($2,500, 4 tickets) Party To Preserve

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September 30, 2014

Chestertown Farm preserved forever

Ed and Marian Fry and their son Matt, and his wife Meg, are again expanding operations on their dairy farm, 54 years after Ed’s father first established the farm in Kent County. The expansion is made possible with an easement by Eastern Shore Land Conservancy and Maryland Environmental Trust. Putting land under easement fulfilled a couple objectives for the family, said Matt. The farming business and the land were owned by different entities. A corporation owns the business, and a limited partnership consisting of extended family members not involved in the business owned the land. Selling a scenic conservation easement on the farm allowed Matt and Meg buy the land. It also helped meet the vision his grandfather would have laid out for the land – that it stay a working farm. In the 1960s, Matt’s grandfather, Ed’s father, moved away from his dairy farm in Montgomery County and started his farm in Kent County. Montgomery County was growing, and he knew he would not be able to farm the way he wanted to for very long. The sale was satisfying for extended family members, as well. Although they did not want to encumber the farm to pay for major building improvements for the farming operation, they did want farming to continue on the land in the manner their grandfather intended. The easement allowed them to get their value from the property and see the farm remain profitable. “This is what we call the home farm here,” Marian said of the dairy and organic grain operation outside of Chestertown. Matt and Meg, both Virginia Tech graduates, settled in Kent County to farm. Matt has been farming with his parents since 2007. He now manages the dairy herd and also participates in management decisions for the larger farm. The Frys recently expanded the dairy herd. Now, 470 cows are milked

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September 22, 2014

What are BMPs?

This article is the first in a series of articles about Best Management Practices. In addition to background about BMPs, these articles will provide practical advice for implementing BMPs on your property. You also may download the full guide. One special characteristic of the Eastern Shore that distinguishes it from other regions along the Atlantic coast is its close proximity to the Chesapeake Bay. Home to thousands of species, the Bay is an impressively large body of water that has a contributing watershed stretching through six states and the District of Columbia. An estimated 17.5 million people live within the Bay watershed. Having such an extensive area of land that flows into it means the risk of becoming heavily polluted is much higher. It also makes it that much more important that there are open-space, low-development areas like the Eastern Shore. Instituting the proper protections in these areas is critical to improving the health of the Chesapeake. Landowners of eased lands on the Eastern Shore are in a position to meaningfully improve the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. By their nature, eased lands produce much less pollution because they restrict commercial and residential development. However, easement landowners can also improve water and environmental health by taking proactive actions. Best Management Practices (BMPs) is an overarching term that describes those proactive actions. BMPs optimize production on the land while reducing negative environmental impacts. BMPs are used in a number of different industries including forestry, oiland gas extraction, and water treatment. In the context of water quality, “best management practices” refers to efforts meant to control water pollution. Traditionally, land development has been mainly concerned with stormwater retention and redirection. Without being treated for any pollutants, stormwater is sent directly into the nearest stream or river. This means any residual motor oil, trash, or fertilizers left on the pavement or fields will get

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September 20, 2014

ESLC’s Party to Preserve

REGISTER NOW for our annual fundraiser, the Party to Preserve, from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014, at Daffin House Farm in Hillsboro. The focus of the party’s auction will be experiencing the Eastern Shore – and beyond. Spend a week at a guest house at the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and watch moose and elk in their habitat. The house includes a queen bed and space for a child or two. A treehouse provides additional fun. Package includes a round of golf for two at the Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis Club and a docent tour of the National Museum of Wildlife. Birders can bid on a migratory bird banding at Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory at Chino Farms and lunch at the Imperial Hotel. A late spring morning just after a warm front passes will produce a bounty of neotropical migrant birds in their finest mating plumage. These jewels are caught in ultra-fine mist nets, taken to a banding lab where they are weighed, aged and banded. Then, they are released unharmed to continue the northward journey to their habitual nesting areas. The Nature Conservancy Maryland/DC Chapter will provide a guided kayak trip for four on Nassawango Creek with a conservationist. This preserve is one of the northernmost remaining examples of a bald cypress swamp. The Nature Conservancy has protected 9,953 of swamp and upland forest along this creek. Stop along the way to enjoy wine and cheese among the water lilies and cypress. Prefer a history lesson? Join Dr. Scott Wing, head of the Smithsonian Institution’s Paleobiology Department, for a tour of the National Museum of Natural History. The paleobiology department focuses on fossil plants and the history of climate change between 70 and 40 million years ago, the last part of the Mesozoic

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Author: ESLC

Ag secretaries discuss future of farming

Party to Preserve

Chestertown Farm preserved forever

What are BMPs?

ESLC’s Party to Preserve

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