The farmers voiced concerns on a wide range of issues, including environmental regulations, water quality and pricing of crops.
Farmers like Susie Hance-Wells provided input regarding federal regulations and the estate tax, according to Americanfarm.com. “Something has to be done, we are losing farms because of this,” Hance-Wells told Hoyer and Vilsack.
Some farmers wished that Hoyer and Vilsack had allowed more time to listen to the farmers in attendance. Wilson Freeland said in an interview with Americanfarm.com, “There’s lots of stories to be told here. It’s worth his while to look over Maryland agriculture as a whole.” But overall, Freeland was impressed with Vilsack’s comments to the crowd.
“In the U.S. we are blessed because of the American farmer,” Vilsack said.
Bay on the Brink is a multimedia reporting project examining the fate of the Chesapeake Bay. It is produced by fellows at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism as part of News21, a consortium of journalism schools. This is the fellows' blog. The full project site is here: http://chesapeake.news21.com
