Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg
The University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) would like to recognize and publicly thank the Howard County Farm Bureau for its recent donation to the Campus Farm Revitalization project. The bureau has generously committed $3,000 to the revitalization and as a result, a stall inside the newly remodeled Dairy and Livestock Barn will be named the “Howard County Farm Bureau Multi-Species Stall.”
The College of AGNR is embarking on a bold mission to turn the Campus Farm – a unique asset for a large, urban university – into a modernized teaching facility for the next generation of students. Proposed improvements include expanding and renovating current structures, creating an indoor teaching pavilion and covered arena, streamlining the layout to more efficiently move animals throughout the site, improving accessibility and increasing the farm’s visibility on campus – all while preserving its bucolic charm.
“The (Campus Farm revitalization) will show people that the University of Maryland still wants to keep agriculture alive and visible,” said Howie Feaga, President of the Howard County Farm Bureau. “It’s important for the students to feel like they’ve got a small piece of agriculture right there on campus, whether they’re studying agriculture or not. Maybe it will send a message that agriculture is being taken care of across the country and this is just a small model of what’s happening.”
Dean Cheng-i Wei has charged that the College of AGNR will match any monetary gift donated specifically toward revitalizing the Campus Farm. To date, nearly $1.25 million has been committed toward the project’s estimated total cost of $6 million.
“Our vision for the future of the Campus Farm won’t become reality without support from leaders in the agricultural community like the Howard County Farm Bureau,” said Dean Wei. “We sincerely appreciate the bureau’s generous donation and hope other organizations will follow in their footsteps to help us keep the Campus Farm a vibrant spot on campus for University of Maryland students and a source of pride for the agricultural community.”
Phase one of construction at the Campus Farm is slated to start in early 2015. For more information on the Campus Farm Revitalization, please visit www.agnr.umd.edu/campusfarm or contact Brian Magness at 301-405-7733 or bmagness@umd.edu.
