The Front Page

Little Bennett: Expect Trail Closures
by Stephen Gunnulfsen

More than 20 years after it was created,one of the most popular trail riding venues in central Maryland is about to undergo a major facelift. If all goes according to plan, as early as late this fall, work could begin on rebuilding the equestrian trail network in Little Bennett Regional Park near Clarksburg.

The newly designed trails at this 3,700-acre Montgomery County park will mean at least 30 percent longer trails, more trailer parking spaces, easier access to the trailheads, and trails that are environmentally sensitive and sustainable. At least two existing trails – Cider Mill and Loggers Trail – will be eliminated to make way for the innovative loop network, park officials said.

“Little Bennett Regional Park is an extraordinary resource; there’s nothing like it in the county,” said Bob Turnbull, senior natural resources specialist with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC). Turnbull is the manager of the approximately four-year, $200,000 trail network project.

He pointed out that the park’s original equestrian trails were laid out using old farm and logging roads at a time when there was little concern about long range, environmental sustainability. Over the years, the trails have taken a beating as an estimated 67,500 people visit the park annually. No fi gures on the number of equestrians who use the park are available.

The new trails at Little Bennett will be narrower than the existing 12-16 foot wide bridle paths. Th ey will have a tread
or fl oor width of three or four feet, while the clearance width will be six to eight feet, Turnbull said. Th e park will remain open during the height of the trail construction work, but some sections of the equestrian trails will be closed. This summer, Turnbull
and the MNCPPC staff are doing final planning for the work and conducting a survey in the park to ensure that the new
trails don’t adversely impact any rare or endangered plants and animals.

Although Little Bennett contains approximately 23 miles of trails, equestrians currently have access to only about 15 miles of them. When the new network is completed, this will grow to 20 miles, Turnbull said. By comparison, the recently opened network at the Woodstock Equestrian Center near Darnestown has about 17 miles of horse trails.

Equestrians will still have to share the trails with mountain bikers, hikers, bird watchers, and anyone else in the park. In addition, areas around the campground that are currently designated “Hikers Only” will remain that way, in order to protect some rare natural resources.

For years, Little Bennett has been enjoyed by equestrians from around the state, making it one of the favorite sites for the organized rides of Trail Riders of Today (TROT). Although it’s a long drive from her home in Woodsboro, TROT Vice President Marilynn Miller said she is a regular at Little Bennett because there is nothing like it in Frederick County.”

Farm Bill Affects Horse People

As our readers who follow national news know, Congress is currently debating the various benefi ts of the Farm Bill. When they hear “the Farm Bill,” most horse people probably think of wheat growers in the Midwest and citrus farms in Florida. Most horse people will not think that the Farm Bill will affect them. Well, think again:

From hay and grain production (have you seen the prices of corn lately?)

to the horse farm mortgage lenders, the Farm Bill can
– and will – affect you.
- The Publisher

Equestrians Must Urge Farm Bill Changes
by Bob Frazee, president and CEO of MidAtlantic Farm Credit

Farm Credit has been an important part of the agricultural community for the past 90 years. As a nationwide system, we have over 450,000 member/owners who rely on us for financing.

For us to continue to serve that community for the next 90 years, we need to modernize some of our current authorities.
These authorities need to be changed by Congress, and they need to be changed now, as Congress is currently working on
the Farm Bill.

I’m writing today to ask your readers to show their support of Farm Credit. Call your local members of Congress and ask them to include updated language about Farm Credit in the next Farm Bill. Specifically, we are asking for three modest changes:

1. Increase the credit availability for farm-related businesses by allowing businesses that are “primarily engaged” in supporting a producer’s farm operation to borrow money from Farm Credit. Th is would include many businesses that are critical to the success of our local farmers, such as farm equipment dealers, feed and seed dealers, and local grain elevators.(Publisher’s Note: Without this, tractor supply and feed dealers will continue to dwindle as Maryland changes from traditional agto equine-oriented ag, meaning that you will have to travel farther to get what you need.)

2. Increase credit availability for home buyers in rural communities. Under current law, we can fi nance the purchaseof a moderately priced, single-family, owner-occupied rural home located in a community whose the population is 2,500 or less. Th is population limit was established in 1971. We are asking to make the limit consistent with current United States Department of Agriculture definitions of rural communities. (Publisher’s Note: This population limit makes it extremely challenging for Farm Credit to supply mortgages to stable owners who provide boarding and lesson services to the community and who need to be located
near development in order to have a client base; this describes most of central Maryland).

3. Update the stock ownership requirements in the system, so that all local Farm Credit associations can set their own minimum level of stock requirements, and allow more of CoBank’s customers (CoBank being a funding bank located in Colorado) to hold voting stock in the cooperative.

Call or write your local representatives, or go online to www.supporthorizons.com and e-mail them directly. If your local senators or representatives are not on the ag committee, ask them to pass their support to Collin Peterson (D-MN), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA),
Frank Lucas (R-OK), and Tim Holden (D-PA), all of whom are critical members of that committee.

Below is a list of Maryland senators and congressmen and the names of their ag legislative assistants. Please call them and urge them to support the farm bill, and to support the three changes that Farm Credit has requested.

Thank you so much for your help.