Maryland Locavore Overview

Maryland Locally Grown Product

There are plenty of seasonal Locavore opportunities to find exactly the fruit, vegetables, beef, lamb, poultry, wine or dairy products that you may be looking for. The 2007 USDA Farm Census reported that Maryland had approximately 12,834 farms and the average number of acres per farm was 160. Of those farms, 931 showed that they raised vegetables for sale, there were 472 orchards, 146 organic farms and 161 CSAs in the state.

Synopsis of 2007 USDA Ag census for Maryland

Classification
Number of farms within the State
Top five counties with the greatest number of farms in each type of classification
Farms with Vegetables harvested for sale
931
St. Mary's Frederick Carroll Baltimore Caroline
Number of Orchards
472
Carroll Baltimore Frederick Washington Montgomery
Sweet Corn
411
Frederick Baltimore Anne Arundel Washington St. Mary's
Potatoes
236
Frederick Washington St. Mary's Baltimore Montgomery
Tomatoes
468
Baltimore St. Mary's Anne Arundel Carroll Frederick
Apples
252
Carroll Frederick Washington Baltimore Montgomery
Peaches
182
Carroll Frederick Washington Anne Arundel Cecil
Cantaloupe
290
St. Mary's Anne Arundel Baltimore Washington Wicomico
Watermelon
273
St. Mary's Anne Arundel Wicomico Baltimore Caroline
Strawberries
150
Washington Wicomico Frederick Baltimore St. Mary's
Blueberries
103
Washington Cecil Carroll Frederick Garrett
Raspberries
113
Washington Frederick Montgomery Carroll Anne Arundel
Blackberries and Dewberries
124
Anne Arundel Carroll Prince George's Washington Baltimore
Poultry and egg production
1,001
Wicomico Worcester Somerset Caroline Dorchester
Dairy cattle and milk production
565
Washington Frederick Garrett Carroll Cecil
Beef and Cattle ranches
1,582
Frederick Garrett Carroll Washington Harford
Bison
16
Baltimore Howard Dorchester St. Mary's Worcester
Aquaculture or other animal production
2,070
Frederick Carroll Baltimore Harford Montgomery
Farms that collect Honey
237
Baltimore Frederick Montgomery Howard Garrett
Farms that collect Maple Syrup
16
Garrett Harford Montgomery Baltimore -

For more specific detail on what local fruits and vegetables are available (and when), please check out our Maryland availability guide.

 
How to find Maryland Growers and producers

To search our database for growers, producers and wineries near you, use one of these three methods:

1. Go to the Proximity search page. Enter the Zip code that you want to use as the basis for your search, enter the number of miles around the Zip code, click or unclick the business types you want to search for, then click the "Search' button. When the results appear, if you want more information about a specific business, you can click on the map marker and then the farm or business name within the information box.

If you would rather not enter a Zip code, you can enter a City and State name or a County and State name.

2. To see all of the Profiles within a specific State, go to the menu selection entitled "State Information" in the blue menu section at the top of the page. Scroll to your State name and as you move through the State names, you will see two menu choices appear to the right of your cursor. Click on the one that includes the words "Growers and Producers". When the list shows on your screen, you may sort by County name (click on the word "County"). If you are looking for a specific product such as Peaches or Beef or Honey, simply enter your search term in the appropriate box. For the Maryland Grower list, click on this link: Maryland Grower list .

3. Using the search box in the upper right hand corner of the screen, just enter the terms you wish to search for..there is no need to include a coma. As an example, if you want to find Peach growers in Maryland, just type in the words Peaches Maryland and click on the Search button.  There is no need to enter connecting words such as "and" or "in".

Additional Maryland Locavore information

Every state has a Cooperative Extension System. Regional offices offer location specific advice on a broad array of topics (including gardening), and may be able to provide you with contact information for growers who are not yet registered on our site. Most have gardening hotlines and offer informational fact sheets, soil testing and pest identification for free or a nominal cost. Often the help is provided by Master Gardeners who are trained to assist the agriculture agents with home gardener's needs. To find contact information for your local County Extension Office – Maryland County Extension Offices.

  • If you would like to ask questions of fellow Maryland Locavores, discuss tips, share recipes, stories, pictures or any another great “Slow Food” discovery, please post it in our Maryland forum by clicking here: Maryland Locavore Forum
  • State sponsored “Locally Grown” program - Maryland's Best
  • Maryland County Fair Schedules – This link provides schedules for County Fairs within Maryland as well as many other local festivals – Maryland County Fairs