Agriculture Day at the Maryland State Fair
August 30, 2007
Lieutenant Governor Brown -- who sends his regards, by the way -- and I have been proclaiming throughout our State our goals that really unite all of us, regardless of whether we’re in agriculture or just benefit from agriculture, regardless of whether we’re Democrats or Republicans, they’re the goals that unite us to strengthen and grow our middle class, our family farms, our family owned businesses; to improve public safety and public education in every part of our State; and to expand the opportunities for learning, for earning, for enjoying the health of the people that we love, as well as the land, the water, the environment that we love for more people rather than fewer.
I mean, those are the goals. That’s our key mission that we had the privilege to choose to share together, it’s what makes us one Maryland. In the end, it’s not about the numbers or the outcomes, whether it’s the number of acres we have, the cold calculation of maximum profits or the life -- it’s about something more than that.
It’s about agriculture as a community and a proud way of life. And agriculture is fundamentally important to our State and it’s important to our economy. It continues to be Maryland’s largest industry and one of our greatest strengths. And we want to grow that strength, we want to build on that strength and we’re committed to doing that with you.
That is why in partnership so far in this young administration -- and believe you me, we didn’t raise a lot of corn or a lot of chickens in the City of Baltimore while I was Mayor. But in the short time that we’ve had the privilege to be able to serve you in the O’Malley/Brown administration we have triple funded MarBidCo to encourage new innovation and new products.
We fully funded the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation and Program Open Space to defend the sustainability of farming.
And we are working with our Congressional delegation to make sure the Farm Bill actually helps Maryland’s small family farms and at the same time we just finished up the payments from last year’s Cover Crop Program and we already have record funding for next year. I think last year, Roger, was the highest amount we ever allocated, about $8 million.
And that’s a program whose credibility and popularity among representatives from, you know, rural areas and city areas alike -- the popularity of that program, the wisdom of that program is growing. And we thank so many of you for making it work.
When it comes to the drought, I know that the low interest loans from the Declaration aren’t going to make up a whole lot of that loss, but our hope is that by getting us that Declaration we at least have our foot in the door, so that if there is some sort of a movement in Congress to provide greater relief, well, then Maryland’s going to be a part of that.
I’m told that Benjamin Franklin once described farming as a kind of continual miracle wrought by the hand of God. And if I could be so presumptuous as to add to his words, I would add it’s wrought by the hand of God and the hard work of good people and really strong families.
It’s real work in the common enterprise of people and while it’s difficult, I believe we can stay true to our vision, move forward to a Maryland with greater opportunity. By keeping faith with the generation of Marylanders before us, but also keeping faith with the future of Maryland, the future generations.
They’ll expect us to give honor to that continual miracle by our hard work, by our faith in one another and, yes, by a Government that actually works, by a Government that’s listening, by a Government that’s learning, by a Government that has the guts to declare goals, to set measurable results and has the good fortune to teach them to so many dedicated people in service to all of you as we celebrate the day with the Department of Agriculture.
We are not doing what we are doing for you as well today as we hope to be able to do it tomorrow or the day after or the day after that. But we are on a constant improvement initiative and we know you’re on the front lines of keeping Maryland a strong State and a great State.
And I thank you also very, very much for what you do each and every day for all of us. Thank you. (Applause.)
