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Mission Statement

The Office of Agriculture (OAG) was created in July 2016 and exists to promote agriculture as a viable component of the County's economic sector, as well as to preserve farmland as a resource for future agricultural production. The goal of the OAG is to promote Montgomery County as a leader in the agricultural industry by providing support to our farm community and working to educate our residents.

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Budget Overview

The total recommended FY24 Operating Budget for the Office of Agriculture is $1,360,493, an increase of $293,717 or 27.53 percent from the FY23 Approved Budget of $1,066,776. Personnel Costs comprise 63.64 percent of the budget for ten full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 5.90 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 36.36 percent of the FY24 budget.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

  • Thriving Youth and Families
  • A Growing Economy
  • A Greener County

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Initiatives

  • Partnered with the Department of Environmental Protection, the Maryland Environmental Service, and the Sugarloaf Citizen Association to allow 20 cubic yard deliveries of Leafgro® to small food producing farms.

  • Partnered with the Montgomery Countryside Alliance to develop a resource guide for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers and currently working with the County's Technology and Business Enterprise Solutions group to incorporate the guide into web pages on the Office of Agriculture website which will provide farmers an opportunity to use the translation services that are built into the website.

  • Partnering with the new Office of Food System Resiliency to develop the new Business Development Specialist staff position within the Office of Agriculture.
  • OAG has engaged with the Maryland-National Capital Park & Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) to request approval to establish a shared-use kitchen space and cold storage facility at the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park as an essential strategy to enable capacity-building within the agricultural community in alignment with County values, to enhance our nutrition and food access efforts serving Montgomery County children and families, and to keep local dollars in our local economy by supporting the expansion of farm-to-school and farm-to-table initiatives. Note: this initiative is dependent upon M-NCPPC approval of this request.

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Innovations and Productivity Improvements

  • Created a monthly inter-agency coordination meeting between OAG, Department of Permitting Services (DPS), and M-NCPPC representatives to review all pending requests surrounding agricultural buildings, agritourism venues, and farm alcohol production businesses, agricultural zoning compliance, and all things agriculture to make sure all agencies are sharing information and come to a consensus on the direction forward.

Program Descriptions

  Agricultural Services

The Office of Agriculture (OAG) serves in a variety of capacities to provide the following services: implement agricultural policies and programs; provide financial and technical assistance to farmers; manage agricultural education programs; provide financial and staff support to its partner agencies; serve as a liaison between the Executive Branch and...

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  Soil Conservation

This program is comprised of staff and other resources from Federal, State, and local agricultural agencies. It provides technical and outreach educational assistance to farmers/rural landowners for implementing best management and conservation practices. The Montgomery Soil Conservation District (MSCD) assists the County which is required to achieve the nationally mandated,...

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  University of Maryland-Extension (UMD-Extention)

The Montgomery County Extension Office serves as the agricultural outreach and education component of the University of Maryland. This agency is funded cooperatively through local, State, and Federal governments. Farmers, families, and youth are the primary audiences of the Extension Office. Educational programs for farmers include raising crops and livestock,...

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Budget Trends
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Program Contacts

Contact Jacqueline Arnold of the Office of Agriculture at 301.590.2859 or Katherine Bryant-Higgins of the Office of Management and Budget at 240.777.2764 for more information regarding this department's operating budget.

Related Links
Budget Summary
TitleActual
FY22
Budget
FY23
Estimate
FY23
Recommended
FY24
%Chg
Bud/Rec
COUNTY GENERAL FUND
EXPENDITURES
Salaries and Wages477025.00574703.00 564067.00 688198.0019.8
Employee Benefits134968.00141145.00 131504.00 177676.0025.9
County General Fund Personnel Costs611993.00715848.00 695571.00 865874.0021.0
Operating Expenses408546.00350928.00 350928.00 494619.0041.0
County General Fund Expenditures1020539.001066776.00 1046499.00 1360493.0027.5
PERSONNEL
Full-Time8.0010.00 10.00 10.000.0
Part-Time1.001.00 1.00 0.00-100.0
FTEs4.155.15 5.15 5.9014.6
REVENUES
Other Intergovernmental67219.0063064.00 63064.00 63064.000.0
Miscellaneous Revenues20038.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
County General Fund Revenues87257.0063064.00 63064.00 63064.000.0
 
GRANT FUND - MCG
EXPENDITURES
Salaries and Wages0.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
Employee Benefits0.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
Grant Fund - MCG Personnel Costs0.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
Grant Fund - MCG Expenditures0.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
PERSONNEL
Full-Time0.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
Part-Time0.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
FTEs0.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
Grant Fund - MCG Revenues0.000.00 0.00 0.000.0
 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS
Total Expenditures1020539.001066776.00 1046499.00 1360493.0027.5
Total Full-Time Positions8.0010.00 10.00 10.000.0
Total Part-Time Positions1.001.00 1.00 0.00-100.0
Total FTEs4.155.15 5.15 5.9014.6
Total Revenues87257.0063064.00 63064.00 63064.000.0
FY24 Recommended Changes
TitleExpendituresFTEs
COUNTY GENERAL FUND
FY23 ORIGINAL APPROPRIATION10667765.15
Other Adjustments (with no service impacts)
Shift: Migration of Expenses from the Capital Budget to the Operating Budget [University of Maryland-Extension (UMD-Extention)]1992941.00
Shift: Migration of Expenses from the Capital Budget to the Operating Budget [Agricultural Services]400000.00
Increase Cost: FY24 Compensation Adjustment307560.00
Increase Cost: Annualization of FY23 Lapsed Positions244750.00
Increase Cost: Annualization of FY23 Compensation Increases214150.00
Increase Cost: Three Percent Inflationary Adjustment to Non-Profit Service Provider Contracts [Agricultural Services]33940.00
Increase Cost: Retirement Adjustment33310.00
Increase Cost: Printing and Mail15160.00
Decrease Cost: Motor Pool Adjustment-3870.00
Decrease Cost: Annualization of FY23 Personnel Costs-73330.00
Decrease Cost: Eliminate Part-Time Principle Administrative Aide Position [Agricultural Services]-22744-0.25
FY24 RECOMMENDED13604935.90
Program Summary
Program NameFY23 APPR
Expenditures
FY23 APPR
FTEs
FY24 REC
Expenditures
FY24 REC
FTEs
Agricultural Services6513463.259318015.00
Soil Conservation2587091.901728030.90
University of Maryland-Extension (UMD-Extention)1567210.002558890.00
Total10667765.1513604935.90
Charges to Other Departments
Charged DepartmentCharged FundFY23
Total$
FY23
FTES
FY24
Total$
FY24
FTES
COUNTY GENERAL FUND
CIPCapital Fund2404032.251283971.00
Environmental ProtectionWater Quality Protection4492403.105074823.10
Total6896435.356358794.10
Funding Parameter Items ($000s)
TitleFY24FY25FY26FY27FY28FY29
COUNTY GENERAL FUND
EXPENDITURES
FY24 Recommended1360.0000001360.0000001360.0000001360.0000001360.0000001360.000000
No inflation or compensation change is included in outyear projections.
Labor Contracts0.00000016.00000016.00000016.00000016.00000016.000000
These figures represent the estimated annualized cost of general wage adjustments, service increments, and other negotiated items.
Subtotal Expenditures1360.0000001376.0000001376.0000001376.0000001376.0000001376.000000