Maryland Farmers

It's a big world and somebody has to feed it.That was theme of an all-day conference at the World Trade Center yesterday as about 200 Maryland farmers, food processors and agriculture officials gathered to discuss the whys, how-tos and projected benefits of marketing food products abroad.Eugene Moos, undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, captured the ears of the lunchtime audience when he said 96 percent of the world's consumers live outside the United States."Think about that," Moos said.

HUGHESVILLE -- For 365 years, Southern Maryland farmers have made a living -- a good living -- growing tobacco.But with smoking under continued attack and the outlook for tobacco bleak, leaf growers are looking at alternatives to a crop that as recently as the early 1980s was referred to as "the economy" of the region.Strawberries, sweet corn, watermelons, cantaloupes, shiitake mushrooms, garlic, honey, organic poultry and emu are among the farming ventures being tried, said Gary V. Hodge, executive director of the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland.

WHEN IT COMES to setting milk prices, Maryland consumers seem to be running out of friends. The governor wants higher prices, the dairy farmers want higher prices and now processors seem to be caving in.Processors want to avoid another nasty legislative fight over a milk price-control bill, designed to prop up ailing dairy farmers but sock it to consumers through higher milk prices. Maryland grocers would be barred from offering discounts, specials or coupons on milk-related products.The state's five remaining processors also fear Maryland farmers will push for the state to join a cartel, the Northeast Interstate Dairy Compact, that wants to set milk prices regionally.

Agriculture is like no other business.Farmers can work hard, make the right decisions and still end the year a step closer to the poorhouse if nature doesn't cooperate.So, to ask farmers and others in the industry what lies ahead for them this year is like asking someone to predict the winner and the total points scored in next week's Super Bowl."I'm always optimistic," said state Agriculture Secretary Lewis R. Riley. "You have to be optimistic if you're into farming. 1996 was a good year, a very good year, for agriculture in Maryland, and we could be in for another good year.

The Environmental Protection Agency has told Maryland's poultry farmers it intends to enforce for the first time federal pollution rules governing chicken manure - a crackdown that has surprised and angered growers while pleasing environmentalists who've long complained about agricultural runoff fouling Chesapeake Bay. At meetings recently on the Eastern Shore, EPA officials told several hundred farmers that they must get federal pollution-discharge permits...

It is an outrage that liberal Maryland politicians and the Maryland press blame livestock farmers as a primary source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay ("The cost of farming," June 22). Politicians and environmental organizations such as Sen. Benjamin Cardin and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation never give Maryland farmers credit for the utilization of best management practices, and they fail to tell Maryland citizens that Maryland agriculture is moving out of the state. My question to Senator Cardin, is why are Maryland livestock farmers being targeted primary polluters of the Chesapeake Bay?

The Maryland Department of Agriculture, with the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension's Home and Garden Information Center, has launched a campaign, "Take It From Maryland Farmers: Backyard Actions for a Cleaner Chesapeake Bay." The campaign offers easy backyard actions that homeowners can take to help the Chesapeake Bay. Tips for homeowners include: taking a soil test, reading a fertilizer bag, water conservation, grass-cycling, and proper mulching techniques for gardens and for trees, and integrated pest management.

State farmers asked to refrain from fall tillingThe U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil Conservation Service, at 9025 Chevrolet Drive in Ellicott City, recommends that Maryland farmers refrain from fall tilling after harvest as a method to curtail soil erosion.The service says fall tillage can cause soil compaction and increase labor, fuel and machinery costs.James Helm, district conservationist, allows for some exceptions but in general discourages fall cultivation.He said that a cheap way to stall soil erosion -- over costlier conservation methods -- is leaving corn and bean residues in the fields after harvest.

CENTREVILLE -- Despite the rains of the past few days, the hot and dry summer will likely rob Maryland farmers of 25 percent to 30 percent of their income this year, state Agriculture Secretary Lewis R. Riley said yesterday."

Maryland is now completing the "Tributary Strategies" -- our state's plan to reduce nutrients flowing into Chesapeake Bay. The culmination of this process is the result of more than a year's hard work by citizens, agencies and elected officials.I am proud to say that farmers have demonstrated their commitment to this effort through their active and constructive participation in countless workshops and meetings across the state.Problems in each of the tributaries have been described and analyzed.