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Budget Year / Version:
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Program Description

  Agricultural Services

The Office of Agriculture (OAG) provides 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 the agricultural community via the Agricultural Advisory, Agricultural Preservation, and Montgomery County Farm Bureau Boards; oversee various land preservation programs; co-sponsor farmers' markets, an annual farm tour, and other activities that promote agricultural businesses and products; and provide mentoring and specialized business training programs. Additionally, OAG collaborates with its partner agencies, which are all co-located at the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood to provide seamless one-stop client interactions and program offerings. These Federal, State, and local partners include the University of Maryland-Extension, the Montgomery Soil Conservation District, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the Farm Service Agency.

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Program Contacts

Contact Jacqueline Arnold of the Office of Agriculture at 301-590-2859 or Natasha Joseph-Wilkerson of the Office of Management and Budget at 240-773-0052 for more information regarding this department's operating budget.

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Program Performance Measures

Program Performance MeasuresActual FY23Actual FY24Estimated FY25Target FY26Target FY27
Technical assistance contacts with farmers1,9641,5341,6001,6001,600
Acres of land under easements inspected by Agricultural Services2,4815,3635,3635,3635,363
Percent of easement acres under most restrictive easement disallowing development34%35%35%35%35%
Percent of participants who learned or benefitted from Agricultural Services event, training, or farm tour100%92%100%100%100%
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Program Budget Changes

FY26 Recommended ChangesExpendituresFTEs
FY25 Approved9957365.00
Increase Cost: Three Percent Inflationary Adjustment to Non-Profit Service Provider Contracts35840.00
Multi-program adjustments, including negotiated compensation changes, employee benefit changes, changes due to staff turnover, reorganizations, and other budget changes affecting multiple programs.457820.00
FY26 Recommended10451025.00