Prigel Creamery Takes One Step Closer to Opening

Laurie Savage
Maryland Correspondent

GLEN ARM, Md. — A check for $250,000 from Baltimore County brought Bobby and Pam Prigel one step closer to opening their on-farm creamery and showed the level of commitment the county has for the project.

Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith presented the loan check to the Prigels during a ceremony Tuesday in front of the creamery building on Bellevale Farm.

"Agriculture has always been such an important part of Baltimore County," Smith said from the podium set within view of the Prigels' grazing Jerseys. The industry is not only important to the aesthetics of the countryside but also to the county's economy.

The outer shell of the building is complete, but inside the remaining dirt floor is a testament to the battle the Prigels are fighting to get the creamery up and running.

The issue stems from the family's desire to open a creamery on their farm.

The farm was preserved in 1997 by the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation. The creamery was deemed an agricultural use and allowable on preserved land at the county and state levels, but a group of neighbors oppose the facility, saying creameries should only be built in commercial areas.

The county is working to allow farmstead creameries as a matter of right, Smith said, adding that he is proud of the county council for their support of the project. The council recently approved language that explicitly allows for creameries in resource conservation zones.

The creamery is one way the county can keep agriculture viable, and the fact that 80 percent of the people in the county live on 30 percent of the land should give the Prigel family confidence they can invest in the county, Smith said.

"This creamery is very important not only to our farm and family but also to Baltimore County," Bobby Prigel said.

The family strives for citizens to have access to local food that has not been trucked for 1,500 miles.

"There have been literally thousands of people who have supported us," Prigel said.

Stan Jacobs, chief financial officer for the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development, and Chris McCollum, agriculture liaison for the department, both said the loan emphasizes the county's commitment to the Prigel family.

"We believe in the project," Jacobs said.

The money presented to the Prigels originated from a revolving loan fund out of the capital budget.

"We make loans for all commercial businesses in the county. Agriculture is just one subset," Jacobs said.

In 2009 the department awarded over $700,000 in new loans to a diverse cross section of the agriculture industry from poultry and dairy to beef cattle and vineyards.

Next week, the county will break ground for a $9 million center for agriculture to consolidate agriculture services.

Agriculture is treated like other county industries, as a business, McCollum said.

"We want to see the Prigels be profitable," he said, which makes them an integral part of the county's agriculture preservation program.

The loan will be used for construction of the creamery building and purchasing equipment.

"We want to lend to the hard assets, what we can see," McCollum said.

The Prigels will forge ahead with the creamery, despite the fact they are still fighting court battles over its allowable use on preserved land.

The opposition was found by the court to not have standing but is now appealing to the court of appeals. The case probably will come up in October.

"Their legal battle is in no way over," McCollum said.