Westminster, MD, Friday, May 10, 2019 – Fourteen farms, preserved by Carroll County Ag Land Preservation programs over the past year, were recognized by the Carroll County Board of Commissioners and state representatives at the Annual Dinner of the Carroll County Land Trust held at the Ag Center on May 9.

The organization’s annual dinner recognizes progress in the county’s agricultural land preservation program each year. This year’s event was attended by County Commissioners Stephen Wantz, Ed Rothstein, Richard Weaver, and Eric Bouchat, and by state Delegates Haven Shoemaker and Susan Krebs who collectively presented certificates to attending program participants. During the presentation, Commissioner Richard Weaver noted the county will soon reach a milestone of 75,000 preserved acres to be celebrated in Spring 2020.

Landowner Recognition: From left, County Commissioners Ed Rothstein, Richard Weaver, Stephen Wantz, landowner and certificate recipient William Dickinson with grandson Drew Hobbs, Del. Haven Shoemaker, Del. Susan Krebs, and Commissioner Eric Bouchat at the Carroll County Land Trust annual dinner held at the Ag Center May 9.

Land Trust President Jason Dudderar presided at the meeting featuring a presentation by Agricultural Land Preservation Program Manager Deborah Bowers on the county’s agriculture industry and recently preserved farms. Many landowners gave remarks on how the land preservation program affected their family farm and agricultural outlook.

The county’s farmland preservation effort ranks in the top five most successful county-level programs in the United States, and the top program in the State of Maryland. The effort began with only the state-operated program in 1980. Later the Critical Farms Program was developed to assist farmers with land purchases. The Maryland Rural Legacy Program began in 1998 and the county-operated program was added in 2002. Bowers said land preservation plays a key role in the county’s thriving agricultural economy because farm business owners know good farmland will always be available.