Maryland Ag Center to Include Vineyard
Executive director says demonstration plot will 'be a great asset'
The Baltimore County Center for Maryland Agriculture plans to start a demonstration vineyard when construction is completed at its new facility.
Hunt Valley, Md. -- The Maryland Wine Association will have a new home and someday a demonstration vineyard when the new Baltimore County Center for Maryland Agriculture is completed. Officials broke ground in Hunt Valley on July 29 for the first phase of the $9 million agriculture center, which will provide office and meeting space for agricultural service agencies.
The new center will be located on a 149-acre property on Shawan Road, just west of Interstate 83. According to Mike Spencer, president of the Ag Center board responsible for moving the project forward, the site is ideal because it is close to the city of Baltimore, but also in a county that has 55,000 acres of land in agricultural preservation.
"Our population doesn't know where their food comes from," Spencer stated. "This center will show how crops including grapes are grown, as well as provide educational information on many aspects of farm life, as well as the best management practices if others want to preserve their land."
The funding for acquisition of the land and the design and construction costs came from local, state and federal sources, including Maryland Program Open Space and the National Park Service, which provided $1 million and POS over $2.1 million . Phase one of the agricultural center is the construction of a 10,000-square-foot building to house the county office of the Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, the Baltimore County Soil Conservation District, the U.S. Natural Resource Conservation Service and the U.S.D.A's Farm Services Agency. It is estimated that this phase will be completed by summer 2010.
The second phase of the project will include the construction of a facility for nonprofit agriculture-related groups such as the Maryland Wine Association, 4H Clubs, Master Gardeners, the Central Maryland Beekeeper Association and the Maryland Horse Breeders Association. Demonstration plots of different crops also are planned, including a one-half- to 1-acre vineyard. Kevin Atticks, executive director of the Maryland Wine Association, said, "I'm excited about the potential of the vineyard. It's still in the planning stages, but will be a great asset when it's established."