Inside the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s effort to cut red tape for farmers

The watermelon and strawberries at the produce stands that dot the roadway along the Eastern Shore’s portion of Route 50 are not the only things there that are red, if you ask Martin Proulx, a newer addition to the state’s government.

Red tape has been holding back the state’s agriculture industry, Proulx, the state’s value-added agricultural specialist who was hired last year, told the Maryland Agricultural Commission during a June 12 meeting at the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s Annapolis headquarters.

“We’ve had produce stands off of (Route) 50 on the Eastern Shore selling watermelon and strawberries, (who) want to sell yogurt in a cooler be told, ‘they need to enclose the stand, put cement on the floor, install a septic system, and a hot water heater,’ ” Proulx said. “How many yogurts do you have to sell to make that a feasible opportunity?”

Proulx, whose job was created in 2023 by the Maryland General Assembly to help farmers to increase the monetary value of their raw agricultural products, put it succinctly in his presentation to the multi-dozen member commission on Wednesday.

“We should be encouraging agricultural producers to add value to their product,” he said, “and make it feasible so there is a market for it.”

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Agriculture, the largest commercial industry in Maryland

While Proulx’s job may be new, some of the problems facing the state's Department of Agriculture are not.

During the commission meeting, Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks, previously the executive director of the Maryland Wineries Association, said three or four years ago he was part of a similar presentation to the commission.

“The refreshing part is (now) it’s coming from the state, not to the state,” Atticks said after Proulx’s presentation. “It’s very much for the first time about truly within, from within the government, cutting red tape and getting to a ‘yes.’ ”

Agriculture is already the largest commercial industry in Maryland, contributing over $8 billion annually, but Proulx pointed to several things holding back business, particularly its value-added aspect.

“There hasn’t been a lot of changes as it relates to agriculture and farm-based licenses through the (Maryland Department of Health),” Proulx told the commission.

“There’s no in between (license for) something temporary or something in a house and something commercially graded,” he said. In Proulx's remarks to the commission, he recommended “scalable regulations within state code.”

In an interview afterwards, he said: “What we’re noticing is (the licensing process is) really making it difficult for farms, especially new and beginning farmers, to scale up to a feasible business model.”

REVIEW: Value-added agriculture, more on agenda for upcoming Maryland Ag Commission meeting

Maryland Agricultural Commission elects new chair, vice chair at meeting

During its meeting on Wednesday, the commission also unanimously elected John “Kelly” Lewis, general manager of Ruppert Nurseries in Montgomery County, as its new chair. Lewis replaces outgoing chair Kelly Dudeck, who served six years in the role.

Amy Crone, executive director of the Maryland Farmers Market Association, was elected vice-chair at the meeting.

Wednesday’s multi-hour commission meeting also included commissioners sharing and receiving reports on various agriculture-related commodities, including forestry and poultry.

As for the next steps for increasing agricultural value-adds in the state, Proulx called on the commission to potentially be a forum for problem-solving and collaboration.

Asked in the interview afterwards whether changing regulations would require legislative action, Proulx said: “Whether or not that is simply a policy change within a department or necessarily a statutory change, that’s yet to be seen.”

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Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Maryland Agricultural Commission meets, elects new chair, vice-chair