Guest feature: Steve Adams​​​​ is the Marketing and Outreach Manager for Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation . Visit linktr.ee/aaedc  to stay up to date on AAEDC.

Just as it does for individuals, the New Year offers an opportunity for business owners to reflect on the accomplishments of the past twelve months and set goals for the next—including how their business will generate more revenue and create more jobs in Maryland.

For many farm-based businesses, this goal-setting often also involves planning what to plant or raise, when to plant and harvest it, and most importantly, how to sell it.

“How to sell it” – or, in basic economic terms, how to “access the market” – is certainly on the agenda for Wild Kid Acres , a five-acre agricultural enrichment and education center located in Edgewater, Maryland. More specifically, Wild Kid is focused on continuing to become a hub for the community by not only connecting the public to agriculture and animals via agritourism opportunities, but also by connecting more producers (and products) to the public through farmers’ markets.

With this in mind, here’s a look back at the My ArundelBiz Podcast episode with Wild Kid Acres that the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC) published last fall, just as the 2023 harvest season was coming to a close.

Co-hosts Grayson Orphe and Steve Adams sat down with Wild Kid owner Gerardo Martinez, a United States Naval Academy graduate and corporate leadership business founder, to discuss:

• How a trip to Cameroon inspired him to start a farm in Edgewater;
• The wide variety of animals – many of them “donated without consent” – that call Wild Kid home, and what purposes they serve, from food to therapy;
• The importance of the farm's multiple revenue streams, including production and agritourism, and running it as a business;
• Why he’s so excited about Wild Kid’s brand new 100% volunteer-built barn, which not only provides a home for horses but will also help underrepresented farmers access the market;
• And much more.

Tune in for an episode that's not only inspirational but, yes, also filled with footage of plenty of cute farm animals!