Howard County Executive Calvin Ball announced his proposed Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget priorities for agriculture that will have a lasting impact for years to come.

In his FY25 proposed budget, Ball seeks $450,000 for Soil Conservation District’s Best Management Practices grant program, $500,000 for the Enhanced Agricultural Grant (EAG), $450,000 to staff up and launch the new Office of Agriculture (OoA) and $15 million in Agricultural Land Preservation Program (ALPP) authorization for new easements.

“Howard County is a bold leader in modern, sustainable agriculture. Since taking office in December 2018, we have launched several initiatives and programs to preserve farmland and promote our agricultural communities. My proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget builds upon those investments and demonstrates our commitment to agriculture, to our farmers, to our farmlands and our rural west,” said the County Executive.

See the full budget breakdown in the press release here