Maryland's Eastern Shore Working to Diversify Economy

Summary

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One could easily make the mistake of thinking that the Eastern Shore's only industries are farming, raising chickens and playing host to the swarms of tourists that descend on Ocean City every summer. True, those are key economic elements for the area, but there's considerably more there and more coming down the pipeline.

We're very much trying to develop an economy that has job opportunities for all skill sets, according to James E. Rzepkowski, assistant secretary for the rural Maryland region at the Department of Business and Economic Development. And that has definitely been a challenge.

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Extract

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Maryland's Eastern Shore Working to Diversify Economy

In the north part of the Eastern Shore lies Cecil County, which with its proximity to Interstate 95, has a bustling, modern economy largely based on manufacturing and distribution centers.

South of the I-95 corridor is the traditional agricultural economy that residents very much want to maintain, said Rzepkowski. But more and more farmers are transforming their crops into food they can sell in the region, rather than ship overseas.

The Eastern Shore increasingly is attempting to ...

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