Welcome 2026! I hope everyone was able to get something of a break from the norm. The year is already proving to be fast-paced again with surprises along the way. I will enjoy the quietness of campus for the next week or so until most students and scooters return. Somehow, even though classes aren’t in session, I seem to have homework for an upcoming conference. I have never been a fan of homework, so I suspect I will put this off until I am on a flight to the conference.
I was able to attend my first Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show (MANTS) in Baltimore. I was impressed with the size of the show, which is reported to be the country’s largest for this sector. It was nice to meet several vendors that are multi-generational growers and UMD alumni. The show has vendors across the entire supply chain and has a feeling of a reunion of sorts for old friends and new colleagues. Next week, I will attend my first Maryland Crop Improvement Association annual meeting, an educational event, where I will have a chance to hear from a number of our faculty who are presenters throughout the day.
This week the Hughes Center has a board meeting. I will be in Annapolis at the end of the week to celebrate the release of the Climate Smart Ag: Roadmap to Resilience report, an important product led by the Hughes Center and many contributing scientists, policymakers, farmers, and non-profit leaders. The report assesses the impact of climate change on Maryland's agricultural community. I appreciate all of the work put into this 3-year project, with a special thanks to Puneet Srivastava and Ernie Shea for co-chairing the effort.
Midweek, I spend the day with the AGNR leadership team of chairs and directors. We will talk about progress on college priorities and do some planning for this year. I look forward to the conversations and brainstorming. It is a good group who are well-positioned to think outside the box. Unfortunately, I had to assign homework so that we make good use of our limited time. Have I mentioned that I am not a fan of homework?
I hope everyone is settling back into the rhythm of the semester. Soon enough, we will have a long weekend to catch up on things before the official start of spring classes. I plan to use a portion of the weekend getting my belated holiday cards out in the mail – the result of not having done my homework sooner.