For all the locavores out there, there's a new farmers' market in town.   Every Tuesday from now until October, local farmers will be selling fresh fruits, vegetables, artisan cheese, eggs and more in the park in front of the University of Maryland Medical Center, along the Paca Street sidewalk.

The medical center, University of Maryland Baltimore and the local community have teamed up to bring fresh, locally grown food to the workers, patients, visitors and residents of that busy corner of downtown.  Local food reduces the energy and air pollution caused by long-distance transportation, according to advocates, and the types of food offered are generally pretty healthy.

Ed Fishel, the university spokesman who took the accompanying photo of the market's opening day today, reports that vendors were selling French bread, range-grown chickens, cheese from western Maryland goats' milk, apples and flowers.  Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:35 PM in Agriculture, Food | Permalink
                       

How "public" are public records if all identifying information is stripped out? 

An Anne Arundel County judge has ruled that the Maryland Department of Agriculture must release reports from farmers on how they manage their animals' waste and any chemical fertilizer they use.  But the judge ordered that state officials redact all identifying information from any farmers' reports it does release.

The Waterkeeper Alliance, which had sued the state to see how Eastern Shore  poultry farmers are managing their chicken manure, issued a press release calling the ruling "an important first step towards bringing transparency to industrial agricultural practice."

But the waterkeepers' announcement failed to mention the judge's caveat about deleting identifying information. Indeed, environmental activists say it's unclear how meaningful the reports will be without being able to know which farms they cover. 

Farmers are required to have "nutrient management plans" under a state law meant to protect streams and the Cheapeake Bay from polluted farm runoff.  The law requires farmers to submit summaries of their plans to the state, but stipulates that the state must keep those reports in such a manner that protects the farmers' identities.

The environmental group had reached a tentative deal with the state to get redacted versions of the current nutrient management plan summaries on file with the Department of Agriculture, plus - unredacted - any old plans on file.  The Maryland Farm Bureau, learning of the pending deal, then went to court to block it.  The two sides duked it out in court in December. 

Continue reading "Maryland farm plans public - sort of" »

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 12:13 PM in Agriculture, water pollution | Permalink