This past weekend our County hosted the 27th annual Montgomery County Farm Tour, where swarms of people faced the heat to venture into the County’s 21 farms that were open to the public. Face painting, hayrides, free samples, goat petting, wine tasting, crafts, and dozens of other activities were featured in this jam-packed weekend of fun on the farm.
Montgomery County’s 93,000 acres of agricultural reserve isn’t just home to fruit and 
vegetable farms. At Star Gazing Farm, an animal sanctuary that cares for stray, abused and neglected animals, visitors were invited to make “nest buddies”, little wooden structures filled with home-spun wool that squirrels, birds, and other critters could pull from to add to their nest. Rocklands Farm and Winery featured tastings of the wine produced and bottled on-site, samples of their exquisite grass-fed beef, and wood-fired pizza from Pizza Brama, who is on-site every weekend. Hilton’s Farm and Garden, a quaint family farm nestled in Clarksburg, hosted a guessing game for the number of (home-grown) corn kernels in a jar, to be announced at their next big event – pumpkin picking in October. Soleado Lavender Farm offers tours, yoga workshops, art classes and more on their 90% solar powered lavender farm that sells essential oil, pick-your-own lavender, soaps, and honey.
On Saturday, July 23rd, after the first day of the Farm Tour, the Montgomery Countryside Alliance and the Sugarloaf Citizens Association hosted the second annual Field and Fiddle Festival at Linden Farm in Dickerson to help “preserve the reserve”. The festival hosted activities for the community to learn about Montgomery County’s nationally recognized agricultural reserve, hosted local products such as 3rd Alarm BBQ, Cipolla Rossa Pizzeria, Chocolates and Tomatoes by Mark Mills, South Mountain Creamery, and Linda’s Luncheonette. Festival-goers sat on hay bales and blankets as they listened to live music from local bands, Justin Trawick and the Common Ground, and Smoke N’ Mangos, then watched “Growing Legacy”, a 30 minute documentary about the US’ most successful farm protection effort, our very own Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve.
It is important to continue to advocate for, protect, and interact with our food, farms, and farmers through events 
such as the Farm Tour and the Field and Fiddle Festival. It is crucial to continue to expose children (and adults!) to farming to create a new generation of farmers, and of course, to support our local farmers whenever possible.
We thank the families and friends who came out this weekend who, by coming, advocated for, protected, and interacted with our food, farms, and farmers. It is crucial to continue to create ties between ourselves (and future generations) and our rich farming community to bolster the connection between farm and fork, farmers and their community, and people to the land.
We look forward to seeing you at next year’s 28th annual farm tour on Saturday, July 22nd and Sunday, July 23rd.
Watch the trailer for “Growing Legacy” here.
Check out Rockland’s summer camps here.