Hoyer, Ag Secretary Discuss Federal Priorities
Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Joseph Bartenfelder, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer, and Maryland Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jim Eichhorst meet on Capitol Hill to discuss Chesapeake Bay conservation programs.
Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) met with Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture Joseph Bartenfelder April 27, 2016, on Capitol Hill to discuss federal priority issues for the Maryland Department of Agriculture. The topics discussed included the Specialty Crop Block Grant, various conservation programs that help reduce run-off into the Chesapeake Bay, and grant funding to increase participation in crop insurance for Maryland. Also in attendance at the meeting was Maryland Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jim Eichhorst.
“I was pleased to meet with Secretary Bartenfelder and Deputy Secretary Eichhorst to discuss federal priorities important to the Maryland Department of Agriculture and issues confronting Maryland farmers,” Congressman Hoyer said after the meeting. “Our Maryland farms help produce safe, plentiful, and affordable food and contribute significantly to the Maryland economy. Farming is a way of life for many Marylanders.”
Agriculture is the largest commercial industry in Maryland.According to Rep. Hoyer there are an estimated 350,000 people in Maryland employed in some aspect of agriculture.
Agriculture is the largest single land use in Maryland, with more than 2 million acres, or roughly 32 percent of total land area, used for farming last year.
In St. Mary’s County, the number of farms increased 2 percent from 621 in 2007 to 632 in 2012, according to statistics from the 2012 Census of Agriculture. The average size of the farms went down 5 percent, according to the statistics, from 111 acres in 2007 to 106 acres in 2012. The average per farm receiving government payments was $4,123 in 2012. That is up 23 percent from 2007, when the average was $3,363. The report can be found here.
” I look forward to working with Secretary Bartenfelder and Deputy Secretary Eichhorst and supporting the agriculture industry in the Fifth District and across Maryland,” Rep. Hoyer said.
Joseph Bartenfelder was sworn-in to office as secretary of agriculture in March 2015.
For more information about House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer, visit his Leader member page.
