Agricultural Grant provides $250,000 for Maryland farmers

BALTIMORE - A new grant announced in Howard County is designed to help farmers thrive.

There are more than 300 farms in Howard County that grow our food.

A $250,000 grant will help farmers expand their reach to provide locally grown fresh food for Marylanders across the state.

"Farms are not only the place we get our food, but they're businesses," said Howard County Executive Calvin Ball. "We can save these farms for the next generation and we can create innovative practices to grow food around the world."  

The enhanced Agricultural Grant Pilot aims to empower our most important food producers in a county with more than 300 farms.

"Helping to bridge a gap and better understanding of how food and so many other products get from our fields to your forks and into your homes," said Leslie Bauer, Howard County Farm Bureau President

"Provides grants between a thousand and twenty thousand dollars directed to farmers primarily for onsite structural investments that support operations," Ball added.

 "I'm just happy we can now support these businesses and the dedicated individuals whose families really do the heavy lifting of keeping agriculture going here in Howard County," said Howard County Councilman David Yungmann."

That support is aimed toward the future by ensuring that, in our uncertain future, of the economy and our world food supply Howard County farmers are at the forefront.

"So five, 10, 15 years from now, we have families, next generation of farmers who are creating those innovations, that will help us grow more food, healthier food, less expensive food for future generations," Ball said.