Resource Based Industries: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, & Hunting

The industries described in this segment include the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sectors of the economy. The types of facilities and employees included in this grouping primarily engage in commercial fishing, farming, animal husbandry and the harvest of timber. These occupations are almost exclusively found in rural areas where there is easy access to natural resources like forests and rivers that naturally support habitats. The population of the Lower Eastern Shore has traditionally been known for its agricultural expertise to stimulate economic growth, provide employment and produce marketable goods from raw materials to the community.

The greatest advantage of the Lower Eastern Shore is its rural landscape and agricultural capabilities in very close proximity to 10 major metropolitan areas with very dense populations within a day’s truck drive.

These close markets and a very robust transportation infrastructure once the trucks leave the Delmarva Peninsula are advantages that need to be further exploited. Conversely, the transportation infrastructure on the Peninsula itself needs improved and enhanced resilience. There are only two major transportation pathways (Route 13 for North‐South and Route 50 for East‐West). This has the potential for routine as well as catastrophic bottlenecks. While water and rail transport options exist, they are marginal at best. Air transportation is also not fully developed for this rapidly developing region. Integration of the emerging economic sector of environmental stewardship into the overall resource based industries ecosphere is a trend.

From 2012 to 2016, the number of establishments in the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sectors remained relatively the same. Yet, the number of paid employees nearly doubled in that same time period from 165 to 238, meaning establishments are growing in size and productivity. Additionally, while the total number of farms in each of the three counties declined from 2012 to 2017, the total acres in harvested cropland rose from 149,567 to 161,071. This statistic indicates there are fewer individual farms but that those still in operation are expanding their acreage per farm. The aggregated value of these farms totaled to $1.48 billion in 2017.

Looking forward, there remains a variety of ways for resource based industries to diversify and improve their farm management operations. Of concern is the growing popularity of solar arrays that take valuable tillable acreage from productive farm lands for generating electricity. Renewable energy providers, local governments and agriculture stakeholders must collaborate with each other in order to find a beneficial solution for both parties. Additionally, agricultural businesses are traditionally family‐owned and operated, with each new generation taking on the planting and harvesting of crops, caretaking of animals, and other responsibilities. This can give rise to a degree of stagnant knowledge of farm production data analytics and the like. On the other hand, many multi‐generational farmers on the Lower Eastern Shore themselves manage hundreds or even tens of thousands of acres using highly sophisticated equipment and methods. Animal feed and ethanol production have contributed to decades of high demand for commodity products such as wheat, corn and soybean, which in turn has driven decisions governing crop choice. Greater diversification of crops into areas such as organic vegetables and hemp could demand a higher market price than traditional commodities. Predictably, and despite increasing demand, market forces and other factors associated with production not traditionally associated with row‐crops has continued to discourage efforts at such diversification.

The lack of significant agricultural growth in this region can perhaps be attributed to technological and regulatory barriers. Broadband Internet service is not available to most of the rural areas of the Lower Eastern Shore counties. The limited access to this increasingly critical resource further hinders agricultural collaboration, innovation, and growth. Additionally, regulations regarding land use and its access creates further restrictions on farmers. This in turn prevents farmers from diversifying their land use, even if it would be more profitable. Land access restrictions limit the areas in which to hunt and fish which also affects the tourists that come to the area to take advantage of the plethora of wildlife. Another hurdle that grain farmers are facing is lack of buyers for their crops. Locally, they can only sell grain as feed to the poultry industry. Alternatively, the remaining product must be exported to a buyer out of state.

The Lower Shore’s forestry industry is highly integrated into other industries in the local economy, with the value of standing timber being multiplied when converted into further processed products. As a practical matter nearly all timber supplying local mills is grown locally, with the majority of the resulting products sold outside the region. Changes in the market and regulatory challenges have significantly impacted the industry locally. Changes in technology and energy sources, such as a proposed natural gas pipeline extension south along the U.S. Route 13 corridor (see pp. 17‐18), though crucial to the long‐term economic development of the region, would in turn create a ripple‐affect to an existing combined‐heat‐and‐power (CHP) system. A significant reduction in the demand for low value wood would in turn affect foresters managing for higher value saw timber, as well as a source of residual materials such as bedding for the poultry industry, mulch and paper. Responsive initiatives from the state, such as a proposed Economic Adjustment Strategy for the Forest Products Sector (EAS), would be a step toward the goal of retaining existing and traditional industries as part of an overall strategic approach to economic resiliency.