The Tobacco Buvout Prosram

During the 1980s and early 1990s many states began to see rising costs of medical care for the uninsured and underinsured from illnesses and conditions related to cigarette smoking. Maryland joined forty-six other states to file suit against the six major tobacco companies collectively. The Master Settlement Agreement was signed on November 20,1998, and the Maryland Tobacco Buyout Program was born. The phase-out of Maryland's 350-year-old tobacco production tradition began its phase out.

As of this writing, the Southem Maryland Tobacco Crop Conversion Program is in its fifth year. There are three components to the tobacco program, which include the tobacco buyout progrirm, the agriculfure infrastructure diversification program, and agriculture land preservation. To date,287 St. Mary's County farmers have taken the tobacco buyout. Farmers who took the tobacco buyout are prohibited from forever raising tobacco. If they were a landowner, a ten-year covenant has been placed on the land, which prohibits tobacco production. Funds have also been set-aside for tobacco farmers who participate in an agriculture land preservation program. They can receive al}%obonus for placing their land in preservation. In addition, farmers can apply for grant funds to assist in their diversification efforts. Funds are also utilized to promote Southem Maryland agricultural products and agro tourism.

Some farmers dealing with decisions on growing an alternate crop received the buyout progr:tm as a lifeline. The buyout offered farmers $1.00 annually for ten years for every pound of tobacco sold in 1998. This provided tobacco farmers a ten-year revenue supported opportunity to redirect their agricultural operations. The Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland administers the Tobacco Buyout Program.

The Changing Face of Aericulture in St. Mary's County

From the 1600s to the end of the decade in1999, fields of flourishing tobacco covered the countryside in Southern Maryland and we in St. Mary's County led the way in acreage in production and pounds of tobacco produced. It was a proud position that we held and a reflection of farm work that was harder than most people will ever experience or understand - and we loved it. Most farms in our area also produced other crops as well, as we dibbled in this and dabbled in that, and grains have always had a place on our farms. Still, it was tobacco that we considered the "cash crop" that provided the standard of living and, indeed, the lifestyle of St. Mary's County farm families. It provided a means for many a youngster in our community to develop a strong work and family ethic, as well as a value for hard physical labor. For that, many of us will always be grateful.

During the 1990s our country, as well as the State of Maryland, began to see quickly escalating medical costs borne by the states for the uninsured and underinsured populations suffering from long-term chronic and terminal illnesses and conditions related to cigarette smoking. Maryland joined 47 other states to file suit against tobacco companies collectively to force them to pay for this burden on the states and the Master Settlement Agreement and the Cigarette Restitution Fund were born.

The face of St. Mary's County agriculture began to change almost immediately and continues to this day

Approximately 288 farms (15,280 production acres) in St. Mary's have ceased tobacco production since the year 2000. While there are still a very small number of acres in tobacco production, these are primarily in the Amish and Mennonite communities of our county. Because of the low volume, these farmers are now experiencing difficulty in marketing their crop.

Being the resourceful people that they are, our agricultural community began looking in earnest for a replacement for tobacco on our farms and what has developed to date from this search is remarkable - a tribute to the resourcefulness and dedication that the farm community has to its way of life. What we see so far is that there are many options being explored and developed as viable agricultural enterprises to replace tobacco production. A drive along our county highways will now provide glimpses of greenhouse operations, vineyards and a newly operational winery, signs for a tree farm, horse rings, expanded livestock operations, fields of vegetables and flowers, orchards, farm shops, farm tours, com mazes, and other less traditional forms of agriculture while the more traditional grain operations continue to thrive.

For some farmers, however, changing times have led to land sales for development putposes. Agricultural leaders in the community work diligently to protect agricultural land, and assist farm families to keep their farms viable and protected from development. This new face of agriculture has also created other new areas of focus for farmers and their leaders - crop supports, crop storage and transport, developing markets, government relations, agricultural legislations, etc., as viewed from a new perspective.

One area of growing concern within the agricultural community is the plight of existing tobacco bams, which are such a prominent part of our history in this region. While some bams are undergoing a conversion to make them suitable for other uses, work is currently underway to protect them as historic entities. Photographers and artists rush to capture them on paper and canvas before some are left to fall into disrepalr, and work to include them in driving tours around the region is being explored.

Through all the changes here at home, there remains one constant - our farm families remain good stewards of the land and strive to meet the agricultural needs of our community, our state, our nation, and our world.