Farm bureau banquet feeds attendees, needy

While the Calvert County Farm Bureau's annual banquet was well attended last Friday at the Calvert County Fairgrounds, it wasn't enough to finish off all the food served at the event's buffet.

But instead of throwing out the surplus vittles, bureau members and Calvert County Commissioner Linda Kelley (R) found a better use and drove it over to the Project ECHO and Safe Harbor shelters, Kelley said at Tuesday's commissioners meeting. The spontaneous donations were no doubt warmly received.

"It's a great help," said Safe Harbor shelter supervisor Barbara Chambers. "You can imagine with the price of food and everything right now, donations of food are greatly appreciated."

The generous contribution came at the end of a night interspersed with gut checks and light-hearted moments.

Maryland Farm Bureau President Michael Phipps, of Owings, gave an address that began with praise for Calvert County's record of producing capable leaders in the agricultural community. While Calvert does not generate much actual agriculture compared to some of the state's other counties, it has been home to three state agriculture secretaries and four state farm bureau presidents, Phipps said.

He then rattled off a series of challenges the industry could face in the near future. Phipps stressed that potential issues with cap-and-trade energy polices and the Environmental Protection Agency, which has ramped up its focus on the Chesapeake Bay cleanup under the Obama Administration, require foresight and careful planning.

"I guess my point is we need to stay ahead of things," he said.

But Phipps wrapped up on a good note and ended the worried silence with a few Larry the Cable Guy zingers.

Not to be outdone, former state senator Bernie Fowler served as the banquet's guest speaker and pleaded for a collaborative effort to clean up the bay and Patuxent River.

Fowler, who has been a staunch Patuxent River advocate much of his professional and retired life, recounted his childhood when during the Great Depression the river fed his family and soft-shell crabs sold for one cent apiece. His annual wade-in, where Fowler measures how far he can walk into the river before losing sight of his feet, has revealed a decreasing level of water clarity over the years.

Citing the declining numbers of local watermen, Fowler described the river as a forgotten "economic engine" that everyone knows how but is unwilling to fix.

"It's the old adage that everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die to get there," he said.

Fowler said time was running out to save the river and bay, but added that doing so could provide a "success story" for future efforts to model themselves after. He championed a "river by river" approach, applauded replacing sweeping long-term plans with short-term goals and suggested the federal government would need to play a key role in cleaning the bay.

Agriculture has often been pegged along with urban sprawl as one of the bay's major pollutants, but Fowler dismissed that idea and said all humans were responsible.

"The problem is we're going to have to quit pointing fingers at each other knowing that we're all part of the problem and that the only way to fix it is to pull together," he said. "If we do less than that, we're guilty I think of an unpardonable sin."

Following Fowler's speech, county farm bureau President Walt Wells lightened the mood with a playful jab.

"When Bernie does his wade-in, I hope he washes his feet before he walks in," Wells said he heard from another farmer.

The banquet also featured brief addresses from Joe-Sam Swann of the Calvert County Young Farmers and Miss Calvert County Farm Bureau Rachel Manning, the silent-auction of two country hams and more than $17,000 in door prizes.