| Maryland Easing Itself into Farm Conservation |
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| Written by Erika Fredrickson | |||||
| Sunday, 16 March 2008 | |||||
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Maryland is doing impressive work when it comes to preserving agricultural tradition. Kent County, for instance, has about 85% of its land zoned for agriculture. A quarter of those acres are under preservation easements which ban development and encourage sustainable practices. Farmers get paid to give up their development rights, which gives them incentive to do what they do best. Another county in Maryland, Prince George's, has two bills in the state legislature that would provide funding for agricultural preservation. One bill would provide property tax credit to farmers who participate in preservation easement programs. The other bill would secure funding for preservation programs. Currently, farmers make money only when they sell their land (“live poor, die rich”) giving virtually no incentive to carry on tradition. Most small- to medium-scale farmers understand the agricultural risks of market and weather. But as we all know, subsidies for commodity crops and other industrial farming incentives don't make it easy (or fair) for the average agrarian-type. Sources: Baltimore Sun and Maryland's Gazette.net
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It's true what our moms said...we are what we eat. In fact, it's truer than they thought. What I eat doesn't just affect me anymore, it affects all of us.
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