IJAMSVILLE, MD. – About an hour west of Baltimore, where the city and suburban landscape gives way to Maryland’s rural countryside, visitors can find Fingerboard Farm, an historic landmark in Frederick County that once nurtured fruit orchards.
Today, Fingerboard cultivates hemp, a type of cannabis that, unlike marijuana, is nonintoxicating and widely considered a wellness product. The farm produces a range of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) products, which it sells online and at a market on the property.
Fingerboard also operates in the agritourism business, welcoming guests to the 25-acre property where they can relax and connect with nature. The property includes a restored 237-year-old farmhouse turned country-inn that hosts weddings, wellness retreats, corporate gatherings and other events.
It’s no secret that America’s farmers are struggling. The cost of supplies and operating expenses have risen sharply, putting pressure on profits. That has prompted more farms to embrace multiple business models to make ends meet.
“The cost of insurance, the cost of taxes, the cost of labor, the cost of input for fertilizer, is just so, so expensive,” said Dawn Gordon, the CEO and current owner of Fingerboard Farm. “We have to do every little thing to make another dime.”
Maryland’s agricultural industry generates about $8 billion for the state economy and supports 350,000 jobs, according to state statistics, but the industry is in decline. Maryland counted 12,550 farms in 2022, down from nearly 18,000 four decades prior, according to the Maryland Department of Agriculture. However, the number of small farms, like Fingerboard, has risen slightly in recent years.
In an effort to save farms still in operation, the state is supporting a number of initiatives to help agricultural operations become more profitable.
“What we’re essentially trying to do is find different ways that we can empower farmers to be innovative,” said Harrison Palmer, the chief of staff at the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
Combining tourism and agriculture, he said, is one approach.
“Maryland is a very high-density population area where we generate a lot of our income as a state from tourism. And so how do we leverage that tourism sector in the agricultural context,” is an important consideration, said Palmer.
Agritourism also offers an educational component that can raise support for local farmers, added Palmer. “When you’re getting folks onto the farm, you’re opening the door for them to learn more about agriculture.”
Agritourism isn’t new. It’s rooted in the late 1800s, when city dwellers looked to escape the summer heat. But it has become more popular in the past two decades. In 2022, there were 354 farms in Maryland with agritourism and recreational services, up from 295 in 2017, according to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Agritourism operations can include a variety of activities including petting zoos, farmer’s markets, pick-your-own-produce, camping, event space and farm educational tours.
The hemp business is trickier, said Palmer, due in part to confusing and changing federal and state regulations on the cultivation and production of cannabis. Once prized in early civilizations for food, textiles and fiber, it was dubbed a “billion-dollar crop” just before it was banned in the U.S. in 1937. Aside from a brief comeback to prop up war efforts during World War II, the plant remained banned for decades until its legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill.
While growing hemp isn’t greatly profitable, Palmer noted that hemp growers who also make products from the plant have more opportunities to earn income. Growers can “add value to the raw agricultural product and enter a new market to make more valuable stuff, make more money and have a profitable business,” he said.
That describes Gordon’s business model at Fingerboard. She purchased the property in 2006, originally hoping to transform the farmhouse into a restaurant with outdoor dining. However, by the time Gordon completed the zoning process to transform the farmhouse, the 2008 financial crisis hit, halting her plans.
Instead of opening a restaurant, Gordon entered the agritourism business, turning the farmhouse into lodging and event space. When Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, legalizing hemp, Gordon found an additional path for the farm. The very next year, Gordon’s Fingerboard Farm became the first licensed hemp farm in Maryland.
Even before the legalization of hemp, CBD had been a passion of Gordon’s. She battled chronic Lyme disease and found relief through CBD and wanted to share the “miracle” of CBD with those with similar health issues. She produces a range of organic CBD products, including oils, teas, gummies and bath bombs.
A few years ago, Fingerboard Farm was recognized as one of Frederick County’s 50 most innovative businesses.
While Gordon said she has never truly turned a profit from the hemp farm, she reinvests everything back into her farm, and more importantly, her passion.
“It certainly isn’t very much, but it’s enough to survive on, and I’m doing what I love,” Gordon said.