Welcome to the Maryland Beginning Farmer Success Online Course.

The course starts February 13, 2025 and ends April 17, 2025.

Each week there will be some required material, and some optional electives. Required material will be on core topics necessary for all kinds of aspiring farmers to have some knowledge about. Electives will offer you the opportunity to explore your unique interests and dig into more advanced material.

To incentivize completing the course,
students who complete the week's required material by noon on Thursday will be entered into a drawing to be mailed a book on a farming related topic.
Students who complete all the required material by 5 pm EST April 24, 2025 will get a certificate of completion.
Each Thursday night, from 7 to 8:30 pm, we will have a live class. All classes will be held online via the software Zoom.

Join us for an exciting workshop where you'll learn the fundamentals of iris folding and create your own beautiful cards!  Iris Folding is a technique that layers paper strips across a cutout shape to form a “swirl” shape similar to the iris of a camera. It looks complicated, but is so easy and a fun way to make beautiful greeting cards.

Stop by the Kent County Public Library in Chestertown on the first and third Saturday of every month from January to March from 10 am to noon with all your questions about gardening, garden pests, plant problems, and insects. Master Gardeners will be on hand to give tips and tricks to make your home garden flourish, help troubleshoot tricky growing situations, and offer encouragement on creating the perfect garden for your space.
Dates/Topics:
November 16, 2024: Preparing Your Lawn Now for Spring and Summer. Special Guests: Master Gardener Sabine Harvey and Marcus Goldman

December 7, 2024- Evergreens of the Season and Plants that Provide the Oils for Holiday Lights.

January 4, 2025- Supporting Wildlife in the Winter

January 18, 2025-Curl up with a Good Garden Book

February 1, 2025-Healthy Soil-Preparing for Planting in the Age of Climate Change

February 15, 2025- New Plants Due to Climate Change

March 1, 2025 – Seed Swap & Garden Day

March 15, 2025- Bugs Don’t Bug Me. Special Guest, University of Maryland Extension Educator, Beth Hill

For further information please call or reasonable accommodations to participate in this event contact the University of Maryland Extension Paul Rickert, at 410-778-1661 or prickert@umd.edu

University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance, or any other legally protected class.

At this field day you will get to see a rainwater harvesting system built onto a high tunnel (hoop house), which uses gutters, IBC totes, and rain barrels to collect and store rainwater. A drip irrigation system then waters crops in the high tunnel with the collected rainwater. The system also tests two different water treatment technologies to reduce the risk of human pathogens affecting the crops being irrigated with the rainwater.

This demonstration and research project is funded by USDA-NIFA and has been implemented by a multi-organization team led by Dr. Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein's Water Quality, Outreach, and Wellness Lab: https://sph.umd.edu/research-impact/laboratories-projects-and-programs/…

Want to explore a different approach to gardening?  Want to learn about different gardening strategies?  At this event, learn less traditional gardening approaches, pros and cons of these approaches, and receive reliable research sources for these approaches.

Make your own Holiday Swag using fresh & fragrant natural materials.  Class includes all materials, but please feel free to bring that special decoration to include in your swag.

This is a contest in which teams compete. Youth and coaches who wish to participate should contact the county/city 4-H office for information about team selection. Team members selected for statewide competition must be registered using the 4HOnline system and approved by their county/city 4-H office. Entries are due by November 17th. For more information on the structure of teams, please refer to the section entitled, “Teams”. 

The contest will feature Junior, Intermediate, and Senior age divisions. Registration for the event will open soon in 4-H Online and will be due by November 17, 2024.

The rules and regulations for the 2024 contest are posted on the Maryland 4-H webpage at: Dog Bowl Rules and Information

Contact Ashley Travis at ashley90@umd.edu or Chris Anderson at canders2@umd.edu if you have questions

Join us for the 2024 Maryland 4-H Volunteer and Teen Forum in Ocean City, MD! 

This event is open to all 4-H volunteers, teen youth, and 4-H faculty/staff members. The Forum provides time to network and connect with others from around the state and learn more about the 4-H program's wonders. It is an excellent opportunity for 4-H teens and adults to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful leaders in their local 4-H programs and Grow and Grow. 

The Forum can also be a fun 4-H Family Getaway to Ocean City! It offers something for the whole family, from fun drop-in activities to free time on the beach or boardwalk to workshops for adults and Teens and classes for younger 4-Hers and Cloverbuds where they can learn and have fun while their parents attend activities for adults. 

The Forum provides professional development workshops, connection sessions during the day on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and fun, hands-on drop-in activities on Saturday evenings. Professional development workshops are designed for adults and teens aged 13 and older. Youth classes will also be offered on Saturdays to engage and educate.

Completed registration is due by November 21, 2024.
Hurry while space lasts.

If you require accommodation, please check that box when registering and indicate the reasonable accommodation. 

Please join us for AGNR's 6th annual Cornerstone Event featuring Ruben Echeverria, senior advisor for agricultural development for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is a leader in international agricultural innovation and director general emeritus of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture. He will deliver a talk on how U.S. agricultural research can benefit the international community.