Some farmers in Charles County do not see mandates coming from the state as feasible to accomplish, especially pertaining to renewable energy.
That was the general sentiment during a roundtable discussion on May 20 with Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks at Bunker Hill Farm in Newburg.
“We know that it’s getting more and more expensive to farm,” Atticks said at the beginning of the discussion. “Development pressure is higher than it’s ever been.”
Atticks said that solar companies are beginning to see farmland with dollar signs in their eyes.
“How do we move further faster? That’s what’s on our mind,” Atticks said. “The world is changing in what’s being demanded of farmers.”
Atticks was asked if there were any updates on electric vehicle mandates for Maryland, to which he replied saying that there were “none on the horizon.”
Chip Bowling, owner of Bunker Hill Farm, said there were indeed state mandates to phase out gas passenger vehicles and light pick-up trucks by 2035.
“It needs to be looked at,” Bowling said.
Atticks told Bowling that the technology exists to make those viable and cheap, but technology to make electric farming equipment, like a combine, viable does not currently exist.
Another in attendance asked, “Why does the state mandate something you don’t have the facilities to do? The SMECO grid won’t hold it. … You’re not going to rebuild our system in 10 years.”
Atticks claimed that the deadline will be pushed if it can not be met by that time, citing the example of the mandate to clean the Chesapeake Bay by 2025.
Bowling acknowledged the efforts to clean up the bay, saying, “We’ve done a lot to clean the bay up, it may not be possible.”
A new question arose — What will be done about the homeowner?
Russell Shlagel, the owner of Shlagel Farms, said there are thousands of farms across Maryland with highly trained workers laying down fertilizer, but there are millions of homeowners laying down fertilizer with no consideration for the runoff of chemicals that occurs.
Atticks addressed this by saying that farmers are in such a minority that they have to approach any policy issue by “coming at it in a way that’s not completely objectionable to the majority.”
“‘No’ isn’t an answer. It’s not how it works,” Atticks said about representing agricultural interests. He explained that the majority simply outvotes agricultural interests, so compromise is needed.
To show how farmers’ interests are suffering, Atticks brought up the example of deer damage and discussions that he had been having with the Department of Natural Resources.
Maryland looks at deer as a public resource that should be available to hunters, and they are therefore deemed state property, making culling deer that cause farmland damage difficult.
“If they’re eating your profit, they are damn sure your deer,” Atticks said.
A general consensus rose amongst the attendees of the roundtable that more needs to be done for agricultural education and literacy, with one man asking if there was any plan to encourage new farmers.
Atticks said, “We’ve been hosting a series of summits, bringing the department of education in.”
Schools will take field trips to farms, and for many of the children it is their first time on a farm actually picking something that they can eat, Atticks explained.
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