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Budget Year / Version:
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Program Description

  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 the agricultural community via the Agricultural Advisory, Agricultural Preservation, and Montgomery County Farm Bureau Boards; oversee the 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, the 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 FY22Actual FY23Estimated FY24Target FY25Target FY26
Technical assistance contacts with farmers 12,1171,9642,1641,9642,164
Acres of land under easements inspected by Agricultural Services5,2922,4812,5002,5002,500
Percent of easement acres under most restrictive easement disallowing development32%34%36%36%38%
Percent of participants who learned or benefitted from Agricultural Services event, training, or farm tour100%100%100%100%100%
1  FY23 is less than FY22 because the fuel energy tax relief program applications are administered every two years. There are typically 200+ businesses.
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Program Budget Changes

FY25 Approved ChangesExpendituresFTEs
FY24 Approved9316505.00
Shift: Weed Control from the Department of Transportation to the Office of Agriculture320000.00
Increase Cost: Three Percent Inflationary Adjustment to Non-Profit Service Provider Contracts35400.00
Decrease Cost: Turnover Savings-325930.00
Multi-program adjustments, including negotiated compensation changes, employee benefit changes, changes due to staff turnover, reorganizations, and other budget changes affecting multiple programs.611390.00
FY25 Approved9957365.00