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.

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

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.

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...

  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,...

  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,...