That's why we were so pleased to have two recent profiles of the program that showcase these farms.
First two articles in Bethesda Beat highlighting the nuts and bolts of the program and profiling some of the farmers and land owners who have matched as a result of the program. 

Next, a video from Montgomery County Cable focusing on Beauty Blooms Farm - the partnership between landowner Susan and Farmer Nia that sent 900 lbs of food to Manna Food Center this season. 

More to Discover:

• Dodo Farms Profile on Maryland Farm and Harvest
• Is a CSA For Me?
• Tips for a successful match: Farmer and Landowner
• Landowner Information Session Recording

MCA stands with our colleagues in Frederick working towards transparency and public process as they endeavor to find out why a 500 acre area has been left out of the Sugarloaf Treasured Landscape Management Plan section of the larger Master Plan revision for some as yet unspecified development. A Public Information Request has been filed by Envision Frederick. 
As you can see above - the 500 acre carve out is west of 270 - the highway has historically the defining eastern border of the Sugarloaf planning zone  just as the Monocacy River difines the zone to the west.
​ 
More Background here from Kai Hagen, former County Commissioner in a piece titled "Hold the Line"

Frederick News Post (8/23): "Frederick County residents voice concerns with Sugarloaf preservation plan"
​Op-Ed- Development Trumps Preservation in Sugarloaf Plan

"The headline will be solar to be sited in the Ag Reserve, " said Councilmember Craig Rice.
​The amended ZTA 20-01 was passed 7-2 with Councilmembers Rice, Albornoz, Navarro, Katz, Friedson, Jawando and Glass For and Riemer and Hucker Against. The straw vote taken last month held with the addition of CM Glass supporting the amended ZTA to get some solar, rather than none, sited in the Reserve.

The Councilmembers who voted for the ZTA on why they support it, in their own words  (these are clips the full council meeting can be found here) : ​

The passed ZTA includes:

1) up to 200% accessory solar generation on farms (up from 120%) see the farms already taking advantage of on-farm solar.

2) conditional use designation for community or net aggregate metered facilities up to 2MW on no more than 1800 acres in the Reserve. The conditional use amendment was sponsored by CM Rice. 

3) exclusion of soil class I and II from solar siting (Soil Class II was added under CM Friedson's amendment. No farming really takes place on Class I soils as most are on Potomac Islands or stream buffers. Class II is where the bulk of current farms operate - check out the soil class chart. (New mapping from the county suggests that over 400 parcels remain for siting solar while avoiding productive class II soils.)

4) mandatory assessment/review provision with impact report by December 31, 2023 provided by Councilmember Jawando's amendment. 

Councilmember Rice opened the meeting by highlighting the fact that the ZTA as amended was a pathway for siting solar in the Ag Reserve. Despite the call from some solar industry supporters that wanted to see the amended ZTA pulled because of the perception that no solar would be constructed, Rice characterized the ZTA as opening the door to solar in the Reserve with the opportunity to revisit the provision in two years to see if a meaningful amount of solar is in fact sited under Councilmember Jawando's amendment creating an assessment point in two years. 

Other councilmembers chimed in with their feeling that opening the door to some solar with protections is still a big step forward toward the County's climate goals. 

Councilmember Albornoz said, "It's not a question of if we support solar in the Ag Reserve, it is a question of when and how. We have to take into account the nuances and complexities of this issue." 

Katz "I believe we will have more solar than less." He asked that the solar industry sit down with farmers to get started siting on the 4000+ available acres available under the ZTA. 

Councilmember Navarro called for an end to the divisive and binary tone that the issue had brought to discussions. "We have to be able to deliberate." 

MCA is deeply grateful to the thoughtful action of Councilmembers, our coalition partners including SCA, Clean Water Action, Montgomery County Farm Bureau and 58 other groups and our supporters who wrote,  called and spoke up for solar siting with care in the Ag Reserve. 

What's next?

• Our Board Member and Climate Liaison Joyce Bailey has been busy providing testimony in support of a number of climate and water quality bills in Annapolis. 
• Councilmembers discussing this ZTA spoke to the Reserve's importance primarily as a source of local food.  We are working to match aspiring farmers with land to strengthen our local food system. Land Link Montgomery will host an info session for Landowners on March 24. 

On November 5, Council President Sidney Katz and Councilmember Hans Riemer convened what was to billed as a "Town Hall" for those with opposing view points on ZTA 20-01 (CM Riemers's proposal to allow 3 square miles of industrial solar in the Ag Reserve with scant protections for productive soils, forests, water quality, etc) to get together and work toward a more balanced compromise. While this is an important aim, the meeting's design seemed to hinder that goal. 

Additionally, it seems that it was only after the first few speakers, almost entirely in support of the ZTA, that the meeting's conveners realized that it would be necessary to keep the following speakers to a three minute time limit. 

Other than the fractured communication brought on by the structure of the meeting, there were a few important takeaways. 

More stakeholder input on this ZTA is very necessary and we look forward to more opportunities to hear from not just those that have been expressing their concerns from the beginning but also farmers who would be directly impacted by this proposal, and for whom the lack of broadband makes civic engagement challenging during the pandemic. 

Click "Read More" below to see the previous post about this "Town Hall."  

Quick Update: 10/12 - The Council will take up ZTA 20-01 10/13 starting at 2:45 (you can find the link to watch on you tube here) - we understand that this will just be a discussion, not a vote. The full packet is here. 
There continue to be many, many problems with this ZTA - the lack of water quality and forest protections (full fact sheet here) all requiring the stakeholder involvement that will be brought by the Task Force Council President Katz will be proposing at this work session. 
Specifically, fans of pollinators (which should be everyone) should note that a landowner can still get the "Pollinator Friendly Certification" required by this ZTA by regularly spraying insecticides on the carefully chosen plants allowed by the program and actually gain points for use of herbicides (p. 27 of the packet linked above).

Update 10/5: Though many of the Councilmembers we spoke with last week are pushing to pause this ZTA so a task force can work on getting solar right in Montgomery County- the proponents of ZTA 20-01 are still instant on pushing this proposal that still lacks protections for soils, forests, water quality and regulations that would govern the cost of the resulting energy.
Please let the council hear from you yet again today before they possibly vote tomorrow - a task force is the way to make progress toward renewable energy generation that balances natural systems and food production.
We also just heard from our friends at Sugarloaf Citizens Association that the solar experts they had look over the ZTA have just published their findings - only about 4% of the energy produced under this proposal would stay in the County. (p. 8 Executive Summary)

Breaking news: ZTA 20-01 ( up-to date amended version) would have allowed 3 square miles of commercial solar arrays in the Ag Reserve without protections for productive soils, forests or water quality. Council President Sidney Katz shared news with us last Friday that the zoning change will now be taken up through participation of a task force.

Deep gratitude to all the action takers that shared their concerns with the Council. Make no mistake - the hundreds of emails sent provided the needed oomph to make our case before an understandably otherwise occupied Council. You were fact based, respectful and tenacious.

We are grateful for CM Katz's leadership in ensuring public process thoughtful and collaborative outcome. This process will afford stakeholders, notably farmers, a voice in how best to advance solar while not supplanting agriculture and damaging our critical natural resources.

While this is a welcome opportunity to get solar right in Montgomery County, concerns remain about how we balance growing food and ground mounted commercial solar.

Please take two minutes to thank the council and reiterate your concerns about this proposal.

There are many ways this ZTA lacked protections - scant protections for forests, productive soils, water quality, etc. It also lacked equity as the same 3rd party electric suppliers that would sell this power are under investigation for predatory pricing in low income communities. To take a deeper dive into all this, please see our fact sheet here. 

It was a different but joyful ride this year as cyclists tackled rides of 8-62 miles on their own over the first weeks of Fall. Here at MCA, we were both humbled and blown away with the number of riders that took part to support the Ag Reserve in its 40th year, including the intrepid folks above who sent in photos from both their 62 mile and 40 mile rides they tackled over the two week event.

We want to thank our riders, the farms that they visited along the routes, our board members who double checked routes and most especially the incredible Vivien Bonazzi, our ride chair who made it all happen. 

Who knows what the future will bring but we look forward to hopefully holding a "normal" ride next year to celebrate MCA's 20 years of protecting the Ag Reserve. 

Riders should have gotten a discount on our US-Made and incredibly soft 40th Anniversary of the Reserve t-shirts. If you missed the link - let us know - kristina@mocoalliance.org

Check out a few of the photos of the ride submitted to us below, including a turn by turn view of the 62 miler! More photos are on our facebook page.  (it's not too late to send yours in! kristina@mocoalliance.org)

Update: July 2020:
It seems that despite the pandemic, the council will be taking up this ZTA allowing siting industrial solar arrays in the Ag Reserve with no protections for productive soils or forests. The findings of the county's climate working group are clear as the Working Group Chair (reiterated in an email here to the Council here  and again by MCA  and also by Reserve Architect Dr. Royce Hanson. ) - the Ag Reserve is not the place for industrial solar. (The Maryland Farm Bureau agrees)

​An Electrical Systems Engineer Expert Weighs In "You can't change the laws of Physics....ZTA 20-01 is not the answer."


The pandemic makes it very difficult for people to properly participate in the public process (particularly in the Ag Reserve where broadband is not universal) but it has put a fine point on the critical value of local farms and local food. Our Land Link program has connected new and expanding farmers with over 500+ acres of leased land. Non-Ag uses like industrial solar make land leases, the lifeblood of farm ventures large and small in MoCo, much less likely to happen with severe impacts on next generation table crop producers - particularly those from under represented backgrounds.  Multi generation ag producers are also opposed to this ZTA.
Click Read More on below for all the background on this issue. 
​

The first committee hearing on this issue was on July 9, read our wrap up here.  The second was on July 16 and is wrapped up here.  The final committee hearing was on 7/22 and the ZTA - still lacking soil/forest/water protections is headed to the full council in September. 

Update: MCA staff is taking time to learn more about our place in the important work toward equality. To this end we are reading "Farming While Black" and sharing some insights. See those posts here.

The pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability of large scale industrial systems, their lack of resiliency and their susceptibility to serious disruption in a specific point in the food production, processing and delivery chain with far reaching negative effects. A system of smaller scale, local and accessible growers, processors and related businesses can step up to the plate and be more responsive and resilient, keeping people safer and less vulnerable to industrial scale disruptions, while providing needed food and community building. Resources for farmers and consumers here.

Also laid bare this past week, again and again and again, is the deep wound of systemic inequality across our country as witnessed by the brutal violence and often ignored mistreatment of people of color every single day. We are reminded that Dr. King warned against the "appalling silence of the good people.” It is our hope that all will listen, then use our collective voices and positive actions to uplift others.

We can be part of badly needed change.

 We've compiled a number of resources for folks to help both understand what is going on and think about what can be done in this moment to make a difference. If you have a resource to share you think belongs here  let us know - info@mocoalliance.org. 
​
Why is this happening? 
Op-Ed from Kareem Abdul Jabarr "Don’t understand the protests? What you’re seeing is people pushed to the edge."

A heartfelt explanation from Trevor Noah of the Daily Show (who grew up under Apartheid)

For those who don't yet feel comfortable with "Black Lives Matter", 9 explanations on why "All Lives Matter" is not a helpful thing to say

​Now What? 

Becoming an ally means more than being "not racist," the brutality we are witnessing and the change needed to change entrenched systems calls us to be "anti-racist" and we are sharing here a document of resources to help.  

Once you've educated yourself, you can educate others. It can be difficult to take a stand to challenge a family member or co-worker's racist "jokes" or gently question a friend's insensitive Halloween costume but this is how systems change. Teaching Tolerance has resources for how to handle these interactions. 

For our part at this time, MCA is stepping back to let the voices of others come to fore, but we will continue to advance a strong healthy local food system, clean air and clean water for ALL our regions residents. We are dedicated to working together to promote real systemic change that will achieve equity. 

Good news from the Reserve! This flock has found pasture through MCA’s Land Link program! (Photo - flock’s arrival last month)
Cheers to the land owners who offer acreage so that agriculture can thrive... right here in Montgomery County! Cheers to the farmers whose labor sustains us!
What’s Land Link you ask? Our program to connect new and expanding farmers with local landowners offering long term leases. ​ http://www.mocolandlink.org

It is nothing less than the global challenge of our time. A slow motion disaster, caused and perpetuated each day by all of us - leaving each of us either feeling powerless in the face of its enormity or in denial of an inconvenient scientifically proved truth.  Our world is warming. 

Recently predictions have gotten more dire, more certain. There is now a timeline for serious impacts to be felt. Much like the adage about planting trees, the time to act was either 20 years ago - or now. 

Montgomery County's 93,000 acre Ag Reserve was envisioned at its creation in 1980 as a way to keep farms on the landscape and it has been successful, but it has also served as a "green lung" and water filter for the region, its forests sucking in Co2, its pervious surfaces allowing re-absorption of large rainfall events. But the County, the Reserve and MCA as its steward can (and must)  do more to combat our climate challenge and mitigate the coming impacts. 

The county  has made a climate change pledge for the county of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.  The county is also working toward Executive Leggett's goal of being a zero waste county - starting with recycling/composting 70% of materials by 2023. MCA is proud to serve on the county's Zero Waste Task Force.  In July 2019 the county convened a Climate Change Task Force of public and private experts, academics, students and more to create a comprehensive climate action plan. 

We are proud to have collaborated with the 38 other organizations making up the Stormwater Partners Network on the Clean Water Blueprint - to be addressed by the Elrich administration. The document lays out how we protect water across the country going forward and provides metrics for gauging success. Among the recommendations are several Ag Reserve specific provisions that MCA will help to implement including: 

~Educational outreach for well and septic owners 
~Establishing science based impervious limits in the Reserve to protect the Sole Source Aquifer and stream quality 
~Advance programs for regenerative agriculture

At MCA, our mission is to protect the farms and open spaces of the Ag Reserve but we all have a role to play in the challenges ahead. We can choose grim disaffection, denial or action.  Help us position the Ag Reserve as a climate change mitigation tool for our county and region. We would be honored by your tax-deductible gift. Thank You! 

 In the County, developers chopping trees must either replant the same number on the site or pay into a "fee in lieu" fund that will re-forest other areas. The Planning Department has used some of this now million dollar fund over the years to re-forest 32 acres of stream buffers in county parks. But we think we can do more, much more. In the first year we have identified over 80 acres and planted 700 trees in stream corridors. We've also brought students and volunteers into the process. To host trees or get involved learn more here.  

We are so proud of the success of our Land Link program - over 400 acres of land  matched with new and expanding farmers since 2011. There are a number of farmers we have linked that have come from farming backgrounds in other countries. These immigrants enrich the food system with their ways of farming and crops that are new to stateside eaters.
We are so honored that the success of the Land Link program and the farmers and landowners that make these connections can be profiled in this piece. 

It should be said that there are as many land lease types as there are matches in the Land Link program and a $1 lease is not typical. To learn more about searching for land or a farmer through our Land Link program, please visit the site. 

As part of the Thrive 2050 campaign to update the county's general plan, the planning department is hosting a number of panel discussions on big topics. We were proud to be the moderator for the first topic - 'The Future of Food'. Our own Caroline Taylor moderated a discussion with Ben Butler of Butler Orchard, Greg Glenn of Rocklands Farm, Darryl Perkins of the Broccoli City Festival  and Hannah Shoulder of the Koiner Center for Sustainable Farming It was an over capacity crowd on a rainy evening to connect and discuss how we feed ourselves and our neighbors in this new decade. You can see the whole session below. 

We spend a lot of time here at MCA doing the work - writing the testimony on land use issues, matching farmers with land, planting trees, educating students and hosting events. We don't always find the time to document what we are up to. Thankfully, our activities have been documented in videos and on the page, check out the following media about our 2019 efforts. 

Montgomery Week in Review- Caroline Taylor introduces Re-Leaf the Reserve

3rd graders helping us mulch our new 1.5 acre Re-Leaf the Reserve planting 

Ride for the Reserve - My MCMedia video:

Meet Dodo Farms - a farm that found land through our Land Link program

We are one of 4 Montgomery Magazine featured charities for their December/January Charity Issue. Read the profile here

Conservation Montgomery honored our Executive Director Caroline Taylor with the Joe Howard Conservation Award.

Land Link Montgomery is MCA's program to connect aspiring and expanding farmers with landowners offering long term leases. The program has matched over 400 acres in the County and continues to accept both landowners and farmers. Visit the Land Link site to learn more.
​We usually get to see the match between farmer and landowner start over email but it is really gratifying to see the result of a match in crops planted and fresh produce at markets. There have been two recent profiles of local Land Link success stories - both now a few seasons in and having achieved the Certified Naturally Grown designation. 

We received a joyful piece of correspondence the other day from Land Link farmer Olaniyi of Dodo Farms. We matched him with an acre some time back and he got in touch with an update and a documentary from the County of the thriving farm on his one acre.  ​

I​ will like to thank you so much for matching us with Dorothy.
I am delighted to tell you that not only have we had the most amazing experience with Dorothy and her family, the county just released a documentary about our farm. We mentioned you in the documentary and your site was featured too.
You changed our lives, you made something that seemed unachievable, easy.
Thank you so much.

Another profile - this time in print- of another Land Link success story was in the harvest issue of PLENTY magazine - the fledgling publication devoted solely to covering the Upcounty and Ag Reserve. Read the article about farmer Tanya here.  Tanya's Passion to Seed Farm is growing both native staples and crops, like Kiwano (Horned Melon) from her native Zimbabwe. 

​Fall Re-Leaf the Reserve planting is underway! 
First of 3 sites being planted by our contractor Gardens by Garth on 1.5 acres of upland ground near Barnesville. Mixed native deciduous and evergreen trees from Schott Nursery are good sized 5-7 feet and will have 6 months to establish root systems before summer’s heat kicks in.

The property owner seeks to slow stormwater, provide habitat and wind break, and sequester carbon.  Further great news: The Reserve farm will also host a new farmer who moved from Massachusetts to produce regeneratively grown table crops.

3rd graders from a MC school learned about the value of trees and how getting messy in soil is both fun and good for you. JOY!

Caroline Taylor is a leading advocate for Montgomery County's Agricultural Reserve. 

Conservation Montgomery is recognizing Caroline as a tireless educator and powerful advocate for farmers and communities in and around our Agricultural Reserve.  With climate change now a high priority on our local agenda, we are recognizing Caroline as a key ally who works every day to protect farms, forests, and park lands in Montgomery County. 

 Here at MCA we know her to be the driving force behind many of our most successful initiatives: Re-Leaf the Reserve, Land Link, the Producers Listserve and many more along with her more informal bringing together of community stakeholders. Where others see challenges she sees opportunity and cheerfully marshalls local resources to solve problems. Her hand at the tiller has given the organization both its tenacity and heart.
 
Our shortened mission statement at MCA is "we connect" Caroline is the glue that brings voices into the conservation and stakeholders around the table to protect farms in Montgomery County. 
​
​See a wrap up of the event here

It was a chilly start but a gorgeous day to Ride for the Reserve - perfectly expressed by this county video:

It took a whole lot of hands to make it happen and we want to thank everyone - starting with the support of our Riders! There will be an after-ride survey sent to each rider so you can let us know how we can improve next year. We thank our pal David Ris who took a ton of great photos right here. And there are more from rider Peter Klosky on our Facebook. Please share your photos with us either on social media (tag @mocoalliance on all platforms) or by email - info@mocoalliance.org

Thanks To...

Our SAG Support team, our Route Leaders and all our volunteers who made our rest stops, registration and picnic run smoothly!
​
Our stops - Barnesville School, RB Savage and Sons Farm Market, Linden Barn (thanks to SCA!), Farmer Anne and her volunteers at Stargazing Farm and Anne Davies at Stonefields. 

Our sponsors Heritage Montgomery, Laren Rusin, PT (who shared some great pre-ride stretches here) and the County's Upcounty Regional Office, our friends at Bike Dr Frederick. 
Our thanks for the grub to Panera, and Harvest Plates and Pints of Gaithersburg, thanks to Kingsbury's Orchard for the venue and cider also Wegmans and Costco. And thanks to Peace Run for the music!

Lastly,  a big big thanks to our ride chair Lili Leonard-the definition of perseverance as she pulled of a great ride despite a very broken ankle - thank you!

Caroline Taylor, Executive Director of MCA

We face tremendous challenges, locally and globally, with climate crisis posing the existential threat of our time. This reality must be met collaboratively, creatively, and aggressively. There is not a minute to waste to get it together… to get all of us together. Voice was given to this imperative at recent launch of the County’s Climate Change Planning initiative. County Executive Marc Elrich took heart that over 100 citizens with a wide range of professional and civic acumen had submitted applications to serve on the technical work groups. Councilmember Tom Hucker’s words resonated, “We need to unleash the power of expertise of our residents. We are lucky to have a smart talented pool to advise us as to how we will tackle this emergency together.” These are good words. But are we poised to do that?

​When Montgomery County rises to this ultimatum, we will have a model to use to address myriad other crucial local issues, the solutions of which will benefit from meaningful public participation. With that inspiration, and some of my own recent experiences in mind, I thought to explore the current state of public participation in Montgomery County to see how it plays out day to day at the local level. I reached out to folks, making time for calls and meetings fully expecting that few would have time or the inclination. I was wrong. Stories and sentiments were freely offered from residents in Wheaton, Damascus, Silver Spring, Poolesville, Bethesda, Clarksburg, Boyds, and beyond. The responses were both sobering and instructive. 

​And here’s what happened with my recent foray into local government decision -making:

This experience is apparently not unique as evidenced by other disquieting remarks leveled at local government of not being heard, of giving up, of feeling that there was no seat at the table for residents to have meaningful exchanges. One resident said, “It can take years of showing up and paying attention to be able to truly follow and be part of the system.” Another remarked, “I occasionally participate, and feel I am listened to at the time. Then the authorities go ahead and do whatever they want. So why participate?” “If you are not a member of the party in power, they won’t listen to you.” And this sentiment was shared by several: “Why have hearings to develop zoning and conditions on land uses and little or no real enforcement?” Importantly, the criticism was more broadly aimed as well: “We have issues that are a reflection of what is going on nationally with name calling, polarization, coarse dialogue.”

​​Folks obviously have been thinking about what could be done to improve public participation with and trust in local governance…

​Direct democracy through public participation promotes accountability and greater understanding. It builds a foundation of trust.  Citizen's input helps to enhance public policy by sparking innovation and improving responsiveness to community needs. When the public is disregarded or thwarted in their effort to participate meaningfully in local governance they feel disempowered, deflated, defeated and many may withdraw.  While this sense of fatigue and near surrender was conveyed by a number of those I spoke to, an equal number were eager to improve things. For those in the community, the message here is one of solidarity and an invitation to feel empowered to take part in this most important aspect of our democracy. For our local government leaders, both elected and staff – please take this message as intended – A Call to Action with a sincere belief that all of our needs will be more easily met through non-adversarial collaboration. Let’s get down to it together.

"The consideration of alternate sites for two of the planned towers in no way jeopardizes the public safety system today." - County Exec Marc Elrich from a statement released 6/20/19

Photo: Dolores Milmoe
THIS JUST IN:

The Montgomery County Council has been advised by staff that there is only one person who is complaining about the proposed 230 foot radio tower at Bretton Woods Country Club. The Council Public Safety Committee will be briefed this Tuesday in a closed door meeting. The briefing packet states on page 5:

“It is staff’s understanding that only one person complained about this site.”

And this is precisely why the Reserve gets short shrift and unwanted land uses... because they simply wave a hand and say no one cares.

So let's write in and let them know we do care and we are the ONE. (enter your return address and click "start writing" to send an email below.) 
​

BACKGROUND

Affected area: Southern gateway to the Agricultural Reserve at River Road near Riley's Lock near Darnestown and Poolesville

In 2017, without proper public process, including coordination with area stakeholders, MC Department of Technical Services picked a spot to construct a 230’ radio tower that will serve as part of the County’s emergency services radio system. The location on River Road, in a State designated Heritage Area, at the southern gateway to the Agricultural Reserve is highly visible. Due to the tower height at that spot, it will require strobing red and white lights. As soon as discovered, stakeholders met with County Executive Ike Leggett in early 2018. He agreed that the site was problematic and asked that alternative sites be identified. And despite having stakeholder timely supplied potential feasible locations, County staff apparently pressed forward with the original site and now is demanding that the County Council facilitate building immediately. Contrary to what the County Council has been told, the County executive and staff have heard from numerous residents, adjacent neighbors, community, and historic preservation groups asking to place the tower in a less prominent location.