Rustic life survives amid rampant development in county

Ellicott City (Map, News) - Martha Clark has been the owner of Clark’s Elioak Farm in Ellicott City since 2002, but the Clark family has been farming in Howard County since 1797.

Clark discusses the difficulties of running a farm amid the county’s development.

Q In addition to the petting farm, does the farm still function as a traditional farm?

AAbsolutely. The petting farm takes up about 20 of the 420 acres on this farm. The rest is farmed traditionally.

We have sweet corn growing and thousands of tomato plants that support the vegetable stand on Route 108. Thirty acres are taken up for corn and vegetables.

We just combined wheat and baled straw; we bale hay. We have a flock of sheep and a herd of cattle. We have some field corn.

Q What is the challenge of keeping this farm amid the development?

A The development pressures are very intense.

The farm is in farming land preservation, so it’s protected from development. ...

It’s still appraised at a high price, which makes it difficult. It made state taxes high.

QWhat have been the farm’s financial successes and failures?

A School tours and birthday parties and [the] public have appreciated and enjoyed the farm since it opened up.

We’re very dependent on weather. People don’t come on rainy days, people don’t come on cold days and people don’t come on hot days. ...

The challenges ... are crop prices varying and farms going out of business. ...

There are less and less farms in Howard County, so suppliers move out of the county or close down.

If you need a part of a tractor or bale, you need to go to another county now to get it.

And affordable housing for labor.

It doesn’t affect me too terribly, because I don’t have a large number of full-time employees, but if I needed full-time employees, it would be hard to find people to work for me and find housing in Howard County.

It just costs too much to live or rent or buy a house in Howard County for people on moderate income.

Q Why has the farm withstood going out of business?

A Mainly because of the will of people who own it.

My father felt very strongly that the farm was not a commodity to be bought and sold, but it was something to take care of during a lifetime and pass on to the next generation.

He instilled that in me. I hope to take care of it and pass it along to my children.

There’s not a whole lot of money in farming. ...

We want to take care of [the land] and do a good job conserving resources, protecting the Chesapeake Bay and being good stewards of the land and environment.

Q What is the farm’s future?

A I hope to keep it going and pass it on to the next generation. ...

I don’t see major expansion of any kind.

I want to keep it simple. ...

This is just a farm, and you can come and enjoy animals, take a hay ride and spend a little time outside.

kseith@baltimoreexaminer.com