Farmers Share Aspirations and Frustrations At Producers Summit

More than 50 representatives from the nearly 750 farms in Montgomery County gathered in Poolesville on Friday to discuss frustrations and share new ideas.

The rare meeting of both large-scale commodity farmers and smaller fruit and vegetable farmers was hosted by the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, an organization that advocates the preservation of Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve. 

“The purpose of the event was assessing needs,” said Kristina Bostick, Senior Conservation Associate with the Montgomery Countryside Alliance. “It’s helpful to begin to figure out what frustrations are out there.”

Among the frustrations expressed Friday were lack of capital, information and land. Several of the farmers who replied to a survey prior to the meeting also expressed interest in more access to meat processing.

Currently, there are only 14 USDA or State inspected facilities in the area, but many have little or no extra capacity, said Bostick during the MCA presentation.

Though no speaker attempted to sidestep the harsh reality of farming -- Agricultural Services representative Jeremy Criss ended his presentation by saying, "It’s never going to be easy. I am an agricultural economist and I would not want to start an agricultural business." -- there was an optimistic tone to the conversations.

"There are opportunities in the small scale vegetable world," said Woody Woodroof, Executive Director and Founder of Red Wiggler Community Farm.

To assist more up-and-coming farmers interested in taking advantage of those opportunities, Shannon Varley, a farmer working with MCA, announced the launch of a Land Link Program. The program would connect those with land with those interested in farming.

"It’s a very simple program that links people seeking farms with people who might own a farm or own land that could be farmed," Varley said. "The demand for local food is growing exponentially and the supply cannot keep up."

She said MCA is studying models of the same program used in several other states and is seeking applicants and those interested in the program. Find more details about the program on their website.

Bostik said they hope to continue the conversations started in this meeting through future small group discussions and online discussion boards.

“Just getting everyone in the room was huge progress,” Bostik said. “There are some things we can all agree on and a lot of shared solutions.”