January 19, 2007 |
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Hi, this is Governor Martin O’Malley.
As a State, Maryland can and must do more to make farming more profitable. The O’Malley-Brown administration will work directly with farmers and MARBIDCO to give our farmers the resources to succeed in a competitive economy.
To that end, I have proposed tripling funding to MARBIDCO to support new farmers and help rural businesses and increase funds for cover crop programs to almost $9 million. My administration will do everything that we can to make farming more profitable by defending contiguous tracts of farmland from sprawl and by marketing Maryland’s agriculture, including a plan to encourage Marylanders to buy more local farm products.
Long before environmental stewardship was fashionable Maryland’s farmers dutifully protected our land. I’ll continue to support cover crop programs and stand with farmers as they implement best practices to protect the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.