Maryland

Maryland, while small, still makes room for 12,400 farms operating on 2 million acres. Primary livestock production comes in the form of chickens, with nearly 260 million reported in 2021. There are 165,000 head of cattle grazing 133,321 acres in the state, with adult cows divided near equally between beef and dairy cows.

The state also produces mono-crops in the form of corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, and barley, utilizing around 1.7 million acres for these purposes.

While Maryland doesn't have the real estate that many of the other states have, the ratio of pasture raised livestock vs. mono-cropping is skewed highly in favor of the latter. Most crops are planted and harvested using environmentally harmful farming methods, and large corporations generally control these markets and their price. We can take a stand and give the power back to the people by supporting locally owned, responsible, sustainable farms. This is how we empower the people and the local economy.