We are so thankful to our District 15 leaders for uplifting our forthcoming well care guide for rural residents of the County, and thankful to the Chesapeake Bay Trust for seed funding for the effort. You can contribute to this project here. 

Our Groundwater project is called the "Good Gift Campaign" because of the gift of the Sole Source Piedmont Aquifer that lies below the surface of the Ag Reserve - the only source of water for the farms and residents of about a third of the county. 
In 2024 we launched the Good Gift Campaign to protect the aquifer as droughts become more frequent and proposed development in the Reserve could easily outpace the aquifer's finite capacity. 
A preliminary survey of residents showed that only 1 in 5 were testing their wells each year for dangerous E. coli and other harmful contaminants as experts suggest. 

To improve well testing, we have begun work on a well care guide - a way to build a culture of protection and stewardship among those reliant on the aquifer. A work group of stakeholders has gathered to craft the guide and our partners at PLENTY magazine are going to turn the informative science and narratives into a cohesive publication reflecting the beauty of the Reserve - as they do in each issue of their magazine. 

We recently secured a mini grant from The Chesapeake Bay Trust to help fund the project and the guide will be published in Summer 2026.

This seed funding has gotten us started - but being the farm advocacy business, we know better than most that a seed needs help to grow. We'd be honored by your tax deductible gift to help this project get flowing. 

Because of our fractured rock geology, chemicals on the surface easily leach down to the groundwater below - and getting that contamination out is really hard. 

PFAS - Dangerous and Expensive
The Town of Poolesville saw this several years ago when monitoring showed several municipal wells had high concentrations of PFAS - forever chemicals that cause a myriad of health issues with very little exposure. 

Town staff had a swift and efficient response - taking the wells offline and spending millions to mitigate the problem.

But how do we avoid this problem in the future - we can hope we catch a problem in time and mitigate wells at great expense - or we can control contamination on the surface before it starts,  saving millions and preventing public health issues. 

Athlete injuries and toxicity
Enter the Poolesville High School's quest to replace their regular turf field with an artificial turf field. 
The plastic "blades" are rolled out over an underlayment of "crumb rubber" - think chopped up tires. There are no artificial turfs on the market that do not contain high levels of PFAS. 
 One reason given for the switch to plastic fields is a better playing experience. Professional athletes would disagree. There are documented increased health issues for players of playing on this type of field (infections, high heat - (55 degrees higher than grass), injuries from slipping) that have NFL plyers calling for a return to all grass. The men's world cup has insisted on all grass venues since 2022 while the women's team has sued to get the same treatment. 

Impacts on Farm Economics
PFAS and the other myriad chemicals in artificial turf pose a real risk for local farms. PFAS - being "forever chemicals"- concentrate in the soil and travel through the food chain, becoming higher in plants and then animals who consume that feed. In Maine where PFAS testing of farm products has been done systematically since 2021, some farms are being shuttered and livestock destroyed to prevent products with high PFAS from reaching consumers.  The state is being forced to buy and repurpose these contaminated farms. 

This year SB 931 - the Renewable Energy Certainty Act passed, allowing commercial solar on up to 5% of prime soils in each Maryland county - that is 5000 acres of the Ag Reserve. Chaberton officials were flaunting their influence on this bill when farmer advocates were denied a seat at the table. 

Chaberton Sugarloaf and Ramiere  (not subject to provisions of SB 931) approved by PSC
​In her decision approving both Chaberton solar projects in the Reserve the Public Service Commission judge imposed conditions that were recommended by the Department of Natural Resources’ Power Plant Research Program and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, namely that Chaberton (a) submit its agrivoltaics plan to MoCo at least 30 days before operation, (b) provide an annual report to the MoCo Attorney General and M-NCPPC regarding its agrivoltaics activities and its efforts to encourage continued farming onsite, and  (c) update the plan every five years or whenever a change occurs in the agrivoltaics activity.
 
Those conditions, the judge said, were the “bare minimum,” and she added several more, the most significant of which is this:
 
Chaberton shall obtain financial surety in the form of a bond or letter of credit from a financial institution in an amount not less than $500,000 payable to Montgomery County, in the event the Commission makes a finding that Project Owner failed to ensure continued use of Agrivoltaics as defined by PUA § 7-306.2(a)(2) throughout the life of the Project.
 
Here is the enforcement mechanism:  if Chaberton (or the new owner buying Chaberton out) fails to maintain agrivoltaics on the property – which in this case means sheep grazing (the applicant's only stated viable ag use)– then MoCo, PPRP, “or any other Party to the case” – which includes intervenors (MCA, SCA, MC Farm Bureau, MAP) – may notify “the Project’s Representative who will have 45 days” to advise the Commission how it is dealing with the matter.  Then, presumably, if the Commission finds that the Owner “failed to ensure continued use of agrivoltaics,” the surety (i.e., the company issuing the bond) would be required to pay MoCo the $500,000 bond. 


Intervenors will seek clarity, through the provision for appeal, regarding both the project approval and the enforcement of these conditions including mandatory inspections. Moreover, the penalty, if levied, should be directed to the County's agricultural preservation fund.


Stay tuned.
 ​

​Farm and Civic Groups Issue Joint Statement Calling for Ag-Centered Agritourism
 
As state and Montgomery County officials explore possible new definitions of and regulations on agritourism, four groups representing farmers and county residents call for support of agriculture itself to be clearly prioritized as interest grows in non-farm activities in the County’s highly praised Agriculture Reserve.   
 
The group statement  from the MoCo Farm Bureau, Montgomery Ag Producers, MCA and Sugarloaf Citizens Association comes as two key Montgomery County Council committees (Econ and PHP) meet on November 12 for briefing and discussion  about this issue. The Council’s discussion is, in part, prompted by a detailed 36-page state report issued in October (Statewide Guidance and Analysis: Maryland’s Value-Added Agriculture and Agritourism) that probed emerging challenges to and opportunities for farm operations.      
 
Landowners and farmers statewide have been enhancing revenue for years by building new markets for their products and new activities on their farms. In Montgomery County’s 93,000-acre Ag Reserve, hundreds of thousands of visitors flock every year to farms to buy fresh local produce; attend harvest festivals, educational tours, and equestrian events. Agritourism builds greater understanding about how food is produced and why it is important to support a strong local food system.
Promoting competition for land from distinctly non-agricultural commercial uses does not support the Ag Reserve and the local agricultural economy. Rather, it undermines it, the groups say.