Earl F. "Buddy" Hance (born July 17, 1955), is an American politician who served as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture in the Cabinet of Governor Martin O'Malley from May 2009 to January 2015, after serving as Deputy Secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture beginning in February 2007.
[2][5] From 2004 to 2007, he served on the board of directors of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
[2][5] In February 2007, Hance was appointed Maryland's Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.
[3] He held this post in the Cabinet of Governor Martin O'Malley until 2015.
[3][7] A fourth-generation family farmer, he owns a 600-acre farm in Port Republic, Maryland, growing corn and soybean crops, and previously tobacco.