ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan was joined by Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) Secretary Joe Bartenfelder this week to kick off Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail at South Mountain Creamery in Frederick. The Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail’s 2022 season will run through September 30. Now in its tenth year, the trail is designed to promote the state’s dairy industry, and […]
NOTTINGHAM, MD—County Executive Johnny Olszewski on Monday announced a joint effort with the Maryland Department of Agriculture to reduce the nuisance midge population on Back River. From early April through the fall of 2022, the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability (DEPS) will conduct aerial midge suppression treatments on a 1200-acre section of upper Back River. “We are […]
TOWSON, MD—Beginning this week, the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability (DEPS) will begin periodically treating the upper section of Back River to suppress nuisance midge populations. The goal is not to eliminate all midges, but to reduce their population to tolerable levels. This Baltimore County Nuisance Midge Control Program is being conducted with matching funding support from […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD—Federal laboratory testing has confirmed a case of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI) on a Maryland poultry farm. Following an investigation by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed a Cecil County sample tested positive for HPAI. The Maryland case comes one week after a HPAI positive […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan this week urged members of the Maryland Congressional Delegation to take immediate action in raising the cap on H-2B guest worker visas. The letter comes in response to a newly released study that shows the impact that these workers have on Maryland’s iconic seafood industry and the state’s economy. “Maryland’s seafood industry is part of what […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD—The Maryland Department of Agriculture on Friday expanded its spotted lanternfly quarantine to include the following counties: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, and Washington, as well as Baltimore City. This quarantine is effective immediately, and restricts the movement of regulated articles that might contain the spotted lanternfly in any of its life stages, including […]
ESSEX, MD—The Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability is preparing to treat a small, targeted area of Back River next week as proof of concept that helicopter application is a feasible option for controlling nuisance midge populations. The department expects to spray a naturally-occurring bacterial larvacide from a low-flying helicopter during daylight hours on or about Tuesday, November […]
ANNAPOLIS, MD—The Maryland Board of Public Works this week approved 12 new Maryland Agricultural Preservation Foundation (MALPF) easements. These easements will permanently preserve an additional 1,483 acres of prime farmland in Allegany, Baltimore, Caroline, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Queen Anne’s, and Worcester counties for an investment of more than $5.3 million in state and local funding. “Keeping farming viable in Maryland […]