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As Tobacco Loses Currency, a New Cash Crop Blooms  

The Raleys borrowed $318,000 to build a half-acre, climate-controlled greenhouse that could grow tens of thousands of garden flowers and add a tidy income to bolster Jamie's slim government pension.

They are among a growing group of local farmers at the forefront of what could become a revolution in Maryland agriculture. Theirs and 40 other farms in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore have created a factory-like network of greenhouses to produce a viable new cash crop for an industry once dependent on tobacco and poultry farming.

The Raleys still farm corn and hay and raise a few Angus cattle, but these days the flowers seem to hold the most promise for a regular payday.

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