DORCHESTER CO., Md. — Dorchester County farmers looking to diversify their operations will soon have access to a new way to grow their business after the county council approved a bill allowing farms to add breweries and distilleries to their operations.
The measure passed Tuesday night and will take effect in 60 days, according to county leaders.
William Layton, owner of Layton's Chance Vineyard and Winery in Vienna, said the change gives him and other farmers a new way to grow their customer base amid ongoing economic pressures in agriculture.
"Our traditional farmers [are] able to grow their business by adding more acres. We're the same way,” said Layton. “You have to continue to expand your business, or else you're getting less and less profitable every year."
Layton, whose family has owned the land for generations, said zoning rules haven't always kept pace with how smaller farms are trying to stay afloat.
"I'm an advocate for value added agriculture. These small farms doing this, are where the future is. And so as long as the county was looking at changing zoning and doing this, I wanted to speak in support of it and say, this is what we need to continue to do," Layton said.
He said the ability to offer multiple products, rather than relying on one, opens the business up to a wider range of customers.
Some of the new rules include:
A farm winery, brewery or distillery must sit on at least five acres of land.
Production is capped at 2,000 gallons of wine, beer or spirits per acre of grapes, hops, grain or other agricultural products grown on the property or controlled by the owner.
Farms can source ingredients from outside suppliers early on, but within five years, at least half of what they use must be grown on the farm itself or on land the owner controls.
The law also caps promotional or special events with more than 200 attendees at eight per calendar year, though smaller gatherings such as tastings, private parties and tours remain unlimited.
Dorchester County resident Kirk White said he is happy that farmers in the county will be able to do more with their land.
“I think it's great that it gives them more opportunities to diversify and do other things, because the ability to utilize your land for other purposes greatly helps families to retain the properties,” said White. “That's a big thing, because sometimes farming is getting so difficult that the kids can't stay with the farm. They wind up looking [in] other directions and doing other things, and then the farms wind up being split up. [Now], you have the ability to diversify and do other projects. I think it's wonderful. You know, it gives people other business opportunities.”
County leadership tells WBOC that this bill brings the county in compliance with state law.
