As manager of the Delaware Department of Agriculture Planning section, Michael McGrath leads the farmland preservation effort in the state. McGrath has been involved in land use issues in Delaware for 30 years, and has led the farmland preservation effort since the program’s inception in 1991.

He was born on a small vegetable farm in Southern New Castle County where his mother and father grew greenhouse crops and sold produce at the King Street Farmers’ Market in Wilmington. Michael operated the family greenhouse business for five years, marketing vegetable plants and ornamentals to retail outlets the length of the Delmarva Peninsula. In 1974, he began working in the New Castle County Executive’s office with responsibility for coordinating county programs in Southern New Castle County. While in that position, he led county efforts in such areas as farmland assessment and economic development. He was lead planner for the county in downtown revitalization efforts in Middletown and projects to bring affordable housing to the area.

Since 1983 Mr. McGrath has managed the work of the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation and the Planning Section in the Delaware Department of Agriculture. The Foundation has preserved over 130,000 acres of farmland in Preservation Districts and almost 71,000 of those acres are now permanently preserved. Mr. McGrath leads the Department’s efforts in statewide land use planning and agricultural development. He and his wife, Joan, live in Smyrna, Delaware, and are the parents of three children.