Governor Larry Hogan has declared August 7-13 as Maryland Farmers’ Market Week to recognize the 97 farmers markets across the state that provide citizens with access to fresh, local produce and other Maryland-made items. Celebrate Maryland Farmers’ Market Week by visiting a nearby market and buying local products. For current locations throughout the state, please check out the 2022 Maryland Farmers Market Directory. “Maryland farmers’ markets provide fresh local produce, meats and other locally-sourced products throughout the state,” said Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder. “These farmers work tirelessly to provide nutritious and delicious ingredients for Maryland families and businesses. This week and beyond, let’s show our appreciation for Maryland growers and producers by buying fresh produce and other items at a local market.“ In Maryland, there is at least one farmers’ market in every county and Baltimore City. Each market is an important economic driver for the state’s agriculture industry. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) census data, farmers’ markets generate $2.4 billion dollars in sales for American farmers. Farmers who sell directly to consumers are more likely to stay in business and grow their operations. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, local food systems generate 13 farm operator jobs per $1 million […]

June is National Dairy Month and we continue to celebrate Maryland’s dairy industry and the farm families that operate them.  With over 42,000 dairy cows and 340 dairy farms across the State, Maryland’s dairy industry is thriving.  Maryland Dairy Princess Elizabeth Karides is providing some insight into all things dairy, including the incredible health benefits of milk, yogurt, and cheese.   And don’t forget the 2022 Maryland Ice Cream Trail is open so get out and enjoy some farm-fresh ice cream today!    Kick Off the Summer by Celebrating Dairy! By: Elizabeth Karides, 2021-22 Maryland Dairy Princess   In 1937, June was dubbed National Milk Month as a way to distribute extra milk during the hot Summer. Since then, June has evolved into National Dairy Month. Though it may sound silly to dedicate an entire thirty days to this food group, National Dairy Month gives us a chance to reflect upon the vital work dairy farmers do for our community and the environment. For starters, our farmers work 365 days a year to provide milk, an undeniably healthy beverage packed with 13 essential nutrients like calcium, potassium, zinc, and Vitamin A, to neighborhoods far and near. These nutrients are linked […]

Maryland Invites Chefs to Submit Recipes for Maryland’s Best Chef Competition Event will Feature Local Products to Celebrate Buy Local Challenge Week   The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) is inviting chefs using local Maryland ingredients to submit original recipes for the Governor’s Buy Local Cookout, being held at MDA in Annapolis on July 21.  MDA is partnering with the Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM) in this competition featuring Maryland agriculture and seafood products. Recipes must be submitted by July 6 and include products from at least one Maryland farmer, waterman, or other producer. Chefs are encouraged to submit simple, but creative recipes featuring at least one local vegetable\fruit or blue catfish and showcase ways the average Maryland family can prepare delicious, nutritious meals with locally produced food at home. RAM will honor two winning chefs, one for blue catfish and one for fruits\vegetables, with a ‘Golden Ticket’ to the World Food Championships in Dallas. Chefs are also invited to celebrate Maryland’s farmers, watermen and the resilient restaurants of the state in a cookout.  “Agriculture and seafood play a major role in Maryland’s history and heritage, and I enjoy seeing new dishes that honor that tradition,” said Governor Hogan. “We […]

The Maryland’s Best Ice Cream Trail’s 2022 season officially begins on May 28, and will run through September 30. Now in its tenth year, the Ice Cream Trail is designed to promote the state’s dairy industry, and has become increasingly popular, drawing participants from across the state and beyond. The 2022 Ice Cream Trail features 10 on-farm creameries across the state that produce and sell their ice cream directly to consumers. The trail stretches more than 290 miles from Washington County in the west to Worcester County in the east. The purpose of the trail is to increase the public’s understanding of dairy farming and to highlight the important contributions of Maryland’s 325 dairy farms, which according to the USDA’s 2017 Census of Agriculture accounted for more than $174 million in sales in 2017. View the 2022 Ice Cream Trail Passport

The Maryland Department of Agriculture’s annual Maryland’s Best Expo will be rescheduled and is no longer taking place in January of 2022. In order to assist the industry a directory will still be compiled and distributed. If you are interested in being included in the directory, please select the appropriate link below. Who should be included in the 2022 directory: • A Maryland farmer, seafood producer, or processor interested in finding new markets for your products (Depending on the product, it must either be grown or produced in Maryland) • A buyer from a grocery store, restaurant, hospital, school, or other venue looking to purchase Maryland grown or produced products • A service provider in agriculture and local food such as a county extension agent, food writer, etc. For questions contact Karen Fedor at karen.fedor@maryland.gov or 410-841-5773. Seafood producers contact Stone Slade at stone.slade@maryland.gov. Buyer Directory Registration: Buyer Registration Link Growers, artisan food companies and seafood companies Directory Registration: Exhibitor Registration Link Extension, media etc. Directory Registration: Others Registration Link

The work of Maryland’s apple growers is paying off for you now! It’s Apple Month in Maryland! Varieties that range from Crispin, big golden green globes of sweetness, to the Stayman, with its tart and spicy flesh are ready for the eating. All these types of apples and the growers who produce them have stories to tell. The Stayman, for example, was developed in 1876 in Leavenworth County, Kansas. Maryland even has its Antietam Blush, a project of the University of Maryland. One of Maryland’s apple growers, Robert Black, was honored this year as Apple Grower of the Year by American Fruit Grower magazine. Search our website for Maryland apple orchards and try out the Maryland Apple Promotion Board’s website.  

Originally from China, snakehead is a voracious predator that feeds on native species of fish and other Chesapeake aquatic wildlife. Fortunately, these invasive species taste delicious! From fried to broiled, in tacos or a poor boy, the versatility of this fish has local chefs excited. If you haven’t tried it yet, order it at your local seafood restaurant or pick some up to cook at home. Check out our Snakehead Recipes

Maryland is home to a thriving number of flower growers and ornamental plant producers. Cut flowers brought in $1.9 million into the state’s ag economy in 2017, the last Ag Census. There are many options for beautifying your home. Including local plants in your plans benefits you, your neighbors and the state! Look for plants and flowers at farmstands and farmers markets. For cut flowers, go to here. For nurseries and garden centers, go here. For gardening tips from the University of Maryland, go here.  

Maryland oystermen and oyster farmers are pulling up the bounty of our waters this season. Try them shucked in stews and fried. Or, enjoy their raw briny essence. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Statistics Service Census of Aquaculture, Maryland farmers sold $3.5 million in oysters in 2018. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that in 2018 Maryland watermen received $6.7 million in sales of wild caught oysters. To find local oysters to enjoy at home, select this link to our Direct to Consumer Map To find a seafood restaurant with oysters select this link to the Maryland Crab & Oyster Trail In the video below learn how to fry Maryland oysters.

Click the map to go to our interactive web site connecting you directly with farmers and seafood companies doing direct sales to replace markets unavailable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Food and agriculture businesses remain essential under Governor Larry Hogan’s Stay at Home order; including farmers markets, farm stands, and local seafood suppliers.

One of our most intriguing foods, oysters are like fine wine, its flavor a mirror of its habitat. Move a grapevine, you get a different wine. Oysters are same. Maryland oysters are sweet and delicate A result of merroir, the content and characteristics of the sea in which it grows, the Chesapeake haunts every slurp or savor you have of an oyster taken from its tributaries. Check out the links below to learn more about Maryland oysters and the locations where you can purchase them. Find restaurants serving local oysters here: www.seafood.maryland.gov/oyster-pledge Explore the seafood trail: www.visitmaryland.org/article/crack-shuck-savor-maryland Try some oyster recipes: www.seafood.maryland.gov/category/oysters/ Learn about the Oyster Recovery Partnership: www.oysterrecovery.org/