This agricultural grant can help farms large and small with up to $25,000 annually

Local farmers can soon benefit from a new grant program that will invest $300,000 over three years for agricultural needs.

The Washington County Commissioners approved the program Tuesday. It is the first agricultural grant program of its kind in the county and may provide stable funding against a shaky economic horizon.

“Agriculture is still our largest industry in Washington County, and I would like to create a grant that is focused on supporting our 900 farms in Washington County,” agricultural business specialist Leslie Hart told the commissioners at their weekly meeting.

"We have $153 million in sales generated directly by agriculture, and many of the grants that come out are very much retail business focused," Hart said. Agriculture "really does get left by the wayside many times when it comes to grants."

The Washington County Maryland Agricultural Innovation Grant will provide $100,000 in funding each year for the next three years to area farmers looking to expand operations. It will be awarded to county farmers in grants of $1,000 to $25,000 beginning this summer.

To be eligible for the grant, an applicant must be based in Washington County with at least six acres of land zoned either for agriculture or environmental conservation, Hart said.

A board will review applications on a point system, giving priority to fully functioning farms, which will be determined by profit-and-loss statements. The board also will take into account the farm size — prioritizing commercial farms over hobby operations — and the applicant’s expressed needs.

"Priority is given to farmers that that is their key industry or their key business versus the hobby farmer who will have much lower sales and much lower expenses and things like that -- who don't necessarily have a broad reach of clientele like an established farmer does," Hart told The Herald-Mail.

Hart said she anticipates applications will open toward the end of June and will remain open for two weeks. The application will be posted online for two to three weeks, and winners will be notified in the second half of July.

The grant funding will come from hotel rental tax funds and may not exceed the amount of $100,000 each year. Farmers will be able to submit multiple applications each year but will not be awarded an amount totaling more than $25,000, according to Hart.

According to Hart, the grant is subject to renewal after a three-year period.

Before approval, Commissioner Derek Harvey pressed Hart about the direct impact this will have on farmers in Washington County. “How do we think this will actually improve the viability of these farmers?” he asked.

"Small farmers have very limited abilities to do marketing outreach, and anytime that we can generate more sales for the ag industry means we're reaching more customers and that money stays in Washington County," Hart responded.

Mike Creek is the co-owner of Palmyra Farm — a fifth generation, 100-cow dairy farm near Antietam Creek. He told The Herald-Mail over the phone Tuesday how he has already had to raise the prices of his dairy products as a result of inflation, making it harder to compete with larger operations.

"Agriculture is a commodity-based industry, meaning you don't get to charge whatever you want to for it," Creek, 41, said. "The market determines what the price is, and then you're told what you're being paid. So sometimes, when you get into situations like that, there's a lot of volatility."

Creek said county grant funding is essential in running a small farm as it stabilizes operations in normal conditions and safeguards during virulent ones. Certain he’ll apply when the application window opens, he said grants like this one “help us breathe a little easier.”

“It just gives us an opportunity to, you know, safeguard our family heritage and continue our … work in agriculture and maintain our dairy farm.”

In other action Tuesday, the commissioners approved a $400,000 grant to Cascade Properties LLC to renovate a building on the highly kinetic Fort Ritchie property for a taphouse. The total renovation cost is $776,000.

"Obviously, this is going to be a huge benefit to the area," Senior Grant Manager Rachel Souders told the board. "People will go far and wide for tastings and such like that, so I think it's gonna be a huge success."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Farmers can apply for grants of up to $25,000 through new program