AGRICULTURE

Agriculture remains the largest single land use in Maryland, with roughly 35% of total land area used for farming. In 1994, some 14,500 farms averaged 152 acres each. Gross farm income for Maryland totaled $1.57 billion in 1994.

The Department of Agriculture is responsible for food safety and consumer services, plant industries and pest management, and resource conservation.

FARM PRODUCTS, 1994
Poultry	$444,341,000
Greenhouse/Nursery	$235,953,000
Dairy Products/Wholesale Milk	$179,196,000
Oil Crops (primarily soybeans)	$ 94,785,000
Meat Animals	$ 77,208,000
Feed Crops (barley, corn, hay, oats)	$ 70,199,000
Vegetables	$ 68,049,000
Miscellaneous Livestock & Products	$ 47,515,000
Eggs	$ 45,227,000
Food Grains (rye, wheat)	$ 36,359,000
Forest Products	$ 29,650,000
Tobacco	$ 18,530,000
Other Seed & Field Crops	$ 15,634,000
Fruits/Nuts	$ 9,979,000
Mushrooms	$ 1,705,000

Maryland Manual On-Line