Montgomery Countryside Alliance, Inc.

-Montgomery County's Ag Reserve maintained as a "working landscape" . The Reserve must fulfill its potential and promise as a viable community to farms on the edge of a growing metro region.
-Increased local food production and distribution
-Agriculture preserved as a way of life and a career
-New farm ventures started and stable for the long term.
-Local students educated about the importance of farms and local food
-Protected water resources

At Montgomery Countryside Alliance, our activities could be summed up in two words: "We Connect". MCA is a lean organization but we compound our strength by building coalitions and partnerships with other organizations and facilitate connections between existing resources of complementary strengths; landowners with new farmers, farmers with institutions, students with a 93,000 acre classroom, residents with healthy local food, and the farming sector with new solutions they have been clamoring for. We achieve our goals with the following programs and initiatives:

Farmer Support:
- Our Producers Listserve and Annual Producers Summits build community- both online with our listserve community of more than 100 local farmers, farm market managers and local food advocates and in person as we gather each year to discuss impediments to local farm profitability.

-Our Land Link program came out of one of those Producers Summits. When farmers were asked to identify the hurdles to starting or expanding farms- the exorbitant price of land was at the top of the list. Land Link connects landowners offering long term leases with new and expanding farmers looking for acreage.

-We helped found the New Farm Pilot program in partnership with the County government- an effort to grow the next generation of small scale table crop producers and plant them in Montgomery County. Small front end investment has yielded new businesses that will strengthen the local economy.

Advocacy:
-Once productive land is developed- it will never be farmed again. We advocate against zoning changes that would take land out of production or uses that compete with the purpose of the Ag Reserve- which is farming.

- We protect our shared water resources for future generations. MCA is a founding member of the Save Ten Mile Creek Coalition- protecting the County's last best stream (part of the back-up water supply for 4.3 Million in the metro area) from the degradation caused by poorly planned development. We also advocate for protection of the Piedmont Sole Source Aquifer- the only source of water for more than 10,000 MoCo residents.

Education:
- We educate decision makers, students and residents about the value of farmland close to population centers, the benefits, both health, economic and social of consuming local food, and the importance of conserving clean water and open space on Metro's edge. We do this through our social media, website, e-newsletter and outreach events- along with publications like our Explore Guide- available at local Whole Foods Market locations.

-We are reaching out directly to students with an Agriculture Education Pilot program that will bring the farm to the classroom and students to local farms.

-Our film "Growing Legacy" profiling the farmers and residents of the Reserve has won fans and awards locally and brought the wonder of the Reserve nationally and internationally.

MCA is a lean, award winning organization with more than a decade of service to Montgomery County's residents, farms and open space. In 2011 and 2015, the Greater Washington Catalogue for Philanthropy called MCA "one of the best" nonprofits in the region. In 2012 we were honored with the Montgomery Civic Federation's Wayne Goldstien Award for excellent service to county residents.

The work of MCA is handled by 2 dedicated staff members, a cadre of volunteers and interns and our talented board of directors. In 2011 we convened an Advisory Committee of local luminaries representing farmers, civic leaders, academics, business owners and residents to give us feedback on how to best use our resources to achieve our goals.

Our thoughtful, respectful- but tenacious when necessary- engagement on issues of agriculture and our environment has garnered us a newsletter list of more than 7000 local residents with better than industry average open rates.

Land Link:
Since starting the program in 2011 we have matched 400 acres for a total of 19 matches. That means 19 new or expanded farm ventures are contributing to the local economy and local food supply. These matches represent diverse businesses- everything from a persimmon orchard to forested acreage for ginseng.

To see more recent milestones- check out our blog post, "What has MCA Done For Me Lately?" http://bit.ly/1gW4y1H

Or check out our 2015 year in review: http://mocoalliance.org/2015/12/mca-2015-year-in-review/