Larriland Farm

Larriland Farm is family owned and operated by the Moore’s. Larry and Polly Moore started the pick your own farming operation in 1973. Three of their four children work full time on the farm. The second oldest daughter, Lynn Moore, is the president of Larriland Farm. Their two sons, Guy Moore and Fenby Moore, are the vice presidents. The oldest daughter, Nancy, lives on the farm and works part time in the office. Lynn, Guy and Fenby are responsible for the daily management and operation of the farm. The next generation is starting to return to the farm. Jake Moore is working in the fields. Jake studied agriculture at West Virginia University. Emily Moore is managing the farm market. Emily studied horticulture at North Carolina State University.

In 1963, Larry Moore sold his farm in Guilford, Maryland to the Rouse Co. and bought this farm in western Howard County. Prior to 1963, Larry had a dairy herd. Each dairy herd required a prefix to the cow’s name to identify the herd and its bloodlines. The prefix that he chose was Larri-, hence, the name Larriland Farm (pronounced Larry land).

After selling the dairy herd, Larry began growing agronomic crops such as soybeans, alfalfa, wheat, etc. He then grew turf. After several years in the turf business, he began looking for other options because he felt that turf depleted the soil too much. He considered the soil to be his most precious resource. About this time, his children expressed an interest in farming (having been brain washed for the prior 15 years to consider this option). Lynn planted one acre of strawberries and so began the fruit and vegetable operation in 1972.

In 1973, we harvested the first acre of strawberries. In that same year, we planted peach and apple trees. Today we grow 10 acres of strawberries, 5.5 acres of tart cherries, 3 acres of sweet cherries, 0.5 acre black raspberries, 5 acres of red raspberries, 12 acres of blueberries, 1 acre of gooseberries and currants, 1 acre of plums, 4.5 acres of thornless blackberries, 24 acres of peaches, 1 acre of seedless table grapes, 25.5 acres of apples, 3.5 acres of Asian pears and 15-20 acres of vegetables including spinach, beets, tomatoes, broccoli, and pumpkins.

In March 2013, we purchased a farm, one mile north of Larriland Farm, on Route 94, Woodbine Road. This farm, The Moore Farm, will grow pick your own pumpkins. Adding 35 acres of crop ground allows us to do a better job with crop rotation for pumpkins. Pumpkins do best with a 5 year crop rotation. We were out of ground at Larriland Farm. All of our tillable acreage is planted to crops.

In July, 2018, we purchased a near-by farm, a half mile east on Florence Road. This farm, The Fine Farm, will allow us to replace some older orchards, expand existing plantings and practice adequate crop rotation. It takes nearly 10 years to rotate out older fruit trees and begin to harvest the new varieties. Peach orchards need replacement every 15+ years. Apple orchards need replacement every 25+ years. Blackberries rotate every 10+ years. Raspberries rotate every 4+ Blueberries rotate every 30+ years. Many of our crops are in need of new ground.

Maintaining good crop rotation allows for better disease and insect control. Crop rotation means allowing 1-5 years between plantings of the same crop in the same field. The number of years necessary depends on the crop, the insects and the diseases. Rotation helps reduce the build up of insects and diseases.