Family Farm

To burble a pea, put it between your lips and tilt your head back until you are looking at the ceiling. Then, "ever so gently," blow. Now keep that pea there, and inch into space, for "an interminable ten seconds." As performed by plebes to upperclassmen orders, pea-burbling has been one of many mealtime entertainments at the Naval Academy. To sail through shoeshine inspection, loosen your belt. With your trousers extending further down, only your brilliant shoe tips will be visible. On the other hand, when the stench of the Navy goat pervades Bancroft Hall nearby, the well-directed pail of water from an upper-floor dormitory window will probably get you put on report.

Ten years ago, burgeoning development in Carroll and Baltimore counties made the Hampstead-based Lippy brothers wonder if they could continue farming thousands of acres of grain and vegetables in Central Maryland. "But we're farming even more acres now than we were then," Keith Lippy, 36, son of one of the four founding brothers, told the more than 50 business people, farmers and retirees at yesterday's monthly Agribusiness Breakfast at Baugher's Restaurant in Westminster. Lippy Brothers Inc., now the largest grain and vegetable farm in the Baltimore metropolitan area, farms 9,700 acres in Carroll and Baltimore counties and in southern Pennsylvania.

Generations ago, Baltimore poet Folger McKinsey wrote "Charles Street in the Fall" about a stroll through the city. On Saturday, his descendents gathered for their 100th reunion, where they ate, played games and celebrated their heritage. "It's neat that this will carry on," said organizer and distant relative Glenn Opperman Sr. of New Jersey. Wearing turn-of-the-century garb to commemorate the centennial, Opperman, 60, said, "We're all afraid to say, 'This is it.'" On Saturday, the extended family gathered at Brandywine Springs State Park, site of the first family picnic in 1910, to continue the legacy and to remember the past.

Proposed changes to Howard County's growth law are in jeopardy as a result of revelations this week that development of the family farm of Councilman Charles C. Feaga would benefit from the changes.Feaga, a West Friendship Republican and candidate for county executive next year, has announced plans to skip the vote on the proposal -- which would more than double the pace of housing development in Ellicott City -- to avoid a possible conflict of interest.But the politics of the issue already have shifted irreparably.

Farm subsidies, a mainstay of economic, political and trade policy for generations, might be about to collapse of their own gluttonous weight. The trick will be convincing farm-state lawmakers that most of their constituents as well as the nation will be better served if the agriculture safety net is no longer tied to production but to protecting green space and preserving the family farm as a viable means to make a living. Pressure for change is coming most powerfully from a successful World Trade Organization challenge by Brazil to U.S. cotton subsidies, setting a precedent sure to apply to other commodities.

Bobby and Pam Prigel are moving forward with construction of a creamery on their Long Green Valley property, where they will sell organic dairy products made from milk produced by their herd at Bellevale Farms. A $250,000 low-interest loan from Baltimore County, announced Tuesday, will help them complete and equip a 10,000-square-foot pole barn on Long Green Road. "This puts the finishing touches on this project," Bobby Prigel told a gathering of officials and friends at the farm, promising to invite them back next spring for ice cream.

John T. "Jack" Gorsuch, an accomplished engineer from a family with ties to the area that go back centuries, died Thursday of complications from pneumonia at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was 78. A lifelong resident of Baltimore, Mr. Gorsuch played varsity baseball and basketball at Polytechnic Institute, but was drafted into the Navy in 1943 before he could graduate. He served as an electronic technician during World War II on the USS Alaska from the time it was commissioned until his discharge in 1946.

We love the beach for many reasons. Among them is the food. When you think Ocean City food staples, you think Thrasher's french fries, Dumser's ice cream and Fisher's caramel popcorn. Those places are great and delicious. But for being surrounded by farmland, few Ocean City eateries really take advantage of selling locally grown fruits and veggies. That's why Kim's Cafe and Marketplace, on 15th Street, is such a refreshing change. The new spot is a carry-out restaurant and organic food market.

HAVRE DE GRACE -- We sold a load of steer calves earlier this month, which for me brought on a case of post-harvest depression.Usually, when the calves leave each fall, it's a moment to celebrate. They're a major crop for our farm, and provide an important part of its revenue. And when they've gone, our responsibility for them is over. We know we've done our job well, and have earned the right to relax for a while. It's nice to take the check to the bank, too.For most farmers in our area, this harvest season looks very good.

Joannie Coleman-Casey's 13-year-old son likes to tell friends that one day he will build a castle in the back yard of the family farm in Gambrills. He has heard that he will get a piece of the small property when he is old enough. But Coleman-Casey worries she will not be able to keep that promise. Anne Arundel County land-use officials want to eliminate a county law that allows owners of farmland to give parcels to family members so those family members can build homes without following the county's normal zoning rules.