BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Along with being the first day of spring, Thursday was National Agriculture Day.

“All it really means is more sunlight, but I think it’s great for agriculture awareness — that’s the big significance of the day,” said C.R. Weaver, partner with Hickory Hollow Farms and CRW Cattle Co., a livestock and vegetable farm in Carroll County.

“It’s the start of a new growing year, and everybody has an awareness of where the food they buy at the grocery store comes from,” Weaver said.

Agriculture is the largest land use in Maryland, with 2 million acres, or roughly one-third of the total land area, used for farms and forests, according to the Maryland Department of Agriculture. In 2006 Maryland farm receipts totaled more than $1.6 billion.

“The big part of agriculture in Maryland is based in central Maryland, especially Carroll and Frederick counties and of course along the Eastern Shore,” said Mel Hollingsworth, administrator for the Maryland Farm Bureau.

There are about 12,000 farms in Maryland — including more than 1,000 in Carroll County — averaging about 170 acres in size, according to the MDA.

Thursday was exciting for the workers at all 12,000 farms, Hollingsworth said.

“The spring brings about getting prepared for the planting season. It’s when farmers start getting into the fields, planting corn and soybeans,” Hollingsworth said. “Now is when they start planting the seeds that will eventually be the crops they harvest in the fall.”

In Baltimore County, home to about 800 farms, county officials and other area farmers took a tour Thursday of Hideaway Farms, a family-owned farm that produces turkeys, beef cattle, hogs and produce.

Recognizing agriculture’s role in Maryland’s economy, Gov. Martin O’Malley proclaimed this week Maryland Agriculture Week.

“Maryland’s agricultural industry is one of the most important in the state because of its contribution to a sustainable economy, environment and quality of life,” O’Malley said in a statement. “For centuries Maryland’s farmers have been our strongest stewards of the land and have provided high-quality, locally -grown and produced food and fiber for our citizens and people throughout the world.”

acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com