This six-week course will primarily focus on five areas of risk management: production, marketing and pricing, financial management, human and personal, and legal risk.  You will learn from experts in the agriculture industry, gain knowledge and confidence in farm management and develop friendships with other women in agriculture.

Registration closes January 12, 2027.

For more information contact Nate Bruce at nsbruce@udel.edu or 302-362-7619.

“University of Delaware Cooperative Extension, in accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.”

Weeds, diseases, and insects are often a major concern for growers in Maryland. Integrated pest management (IPM) programs incorporate multiple pest management strategies into their production practices. Join us monthly, on the Third Thursday at noon,  these one-hour sessions are both informative and interactive, providing an opportunity for participants to learn and engage with specialists in the field.

• Sep 17th    Root-Knot Nematode Management in Vegetable Crops - Ben Beale, University of Maryland Extension

• Oct 15th    Precision herbicide application- Dr. Travis Ford, University of Maryland Extension

Fall 2026 Wednesday’s from Noon – 1pm. Virtual

• • 9/30 - Farm Business Entities with Paul Goeringer, UMD, ALEI
• • 10/7 - Business Planning with Neith Little, UME
• • 10/14 - Budgets and Financial Record Keeping with Dr. Xuan Wei, UME
• • 10/21 & 10/28 - No lecture
• • 11/4 -  Intro to On-Farm Insurance for Produce Farms with Samantha Capaldo, UMES, ALEI
• • 11/11 - Intro to Farm Taxes with Nicole Cook, UMES, ALEI
• • 11/18 - How to Accept Supplemental Nutrition Benefit Payments with Megan Todd, UMD, ALEI
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• Sessions are independent of each other. Sign up once to attend one or all. Registration at https://go.umd.edu/BFFBLL26 or call Emily Zobel at 410-228-8800.
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• If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Emily Zobel at 410-228-8800 or ezobel@umd.edu by September 13, 2026. 
  This program is offered in Spanish upon request.
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• This material is based upon work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number SNE25-005.
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• 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.

This accelerator program will host an eight-week cohort focused on business planning, marketing, and financial strategies. This course is not for beginners looking to gain basic knowledge of agriculture or business planning. If you are looking for educational resources to help you start a business, please check out our Maryland Beginning Farmer Success program.

If you are a current farmer or food entrepreneur, please apply to participate in an intermediate course designed to help you take actionable steps towards achieving your business goals, securing funding, and expanding their market reach.

The next round of the course starts Sept 28 and ends Nov. 20, 2026.  
You will complete online coursework at your own pace. Extension faculty will meet with you via Zoom office hours to discuss your goals and provide feedback on your draft materials.

At the end of the course, a professional business consultant will review your plan and provide tailored feedback from a financing perspective.

This training is offered at no cost to you, thanks to a grant from AgriProspects, a project of the Extension Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture. 

University Programs, Activities, and Facilities are avaiaalbe 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. 

Join University of Maryland Extension for a two-hour webinar evaluating capitalization versus expense decisions using current IRS guidance and court precedent. Determining whether a business cost should be expensed or capitalized is one of the most judgment-intensive and frequently challenged areas of tax compliance. The classification of expenditures directly affects taxable income, financial statements, audit risk, and long-term planning strategies—making it a critical issue for tax and accounting professionals. Presented by former IRS Technical Advisor and Certified Fraud Examiner Susan Harper. 

Join University of Maryland Extension for a two-hour webinar evaluating capitalization versus expense decisions using current IRS guidance and court precedent. Determining whether a business cost should be expensed or capitalized is one of the most judgment-intensive and frequently challenged areas of tax compliance. The classification of expenditures directly affects taxable income, financial statements, audit risk, and long-term planning strategies—making it a critical issue for tax and accounting professionals. Presented by former IRS Technical Advisor and Certified Fraud Examiner Susan Harper. 

Practical Experiences in Nutrient Management is a workshop conducted by the University of Maryland Extension Agricultural Nutrient Management Program that provides participants with hands-on farming and nutrient management related activities including yield and moisture estimates of grain crops, harvest machinery overview and demonstration, and compost and cover crop application to fields.

9:00-9:30 -     Registration

9:30-12:00 - This session will provide a practical overview of key post-season grain crop management and harvest evaluation activities. Participants will review common grain crop yield estimate procedures, examine a combine and its major components, and observe the machine harvesting a grain crop in the field. The program will also include a comparison of moisture readings taken with a hand test moisture meter and those recorded by the combine yield monitor to highlight accuracy and calibration considerations. In addition, attendees will see post-harvest field operations including compost application, broadcast seeding of a cover crop, and vertical tillage used to incorporate the compost and cover crop seed into the soil. 

12:00-12:30- Lunch

12:30-1:00-   MDA Nutrient Management Update

1:00-3:30-     This session will provide participants with an overview of vegetable production and harvest, and view the vegetable harvesting conveyor.  The program will end with an overview of the production of compost on the farm and the planning process for fall applications.

CEUs: 5.5 hours of credit toward consultants’ or operators’ continuing education requirement will be earned from full participation in this event.

Meet with members of our faculty to discuss our programs. You will have an opportunity to ask questions.

Learn which plants produce easy to save seeds; how to know when seeds are mature to harvest; best practices for cleaning, drying and storing seeds; and which seeds are best to save and which to avoid. 

Share what your grow! Participants are encouraged to donate a portion of self saved seeds to any Allegany County Library location at their free seed library. 

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 other legally protected class.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate any program or event, please contact our office, at least two weeks prior, at 301-724-3320.

Join University of Maryland Extension for a two-hour webinar exploring the various forms of retirement plans designed for small business owners.  It is extremely important to stay up to date on the constant changes to retirement plans. This webinar equips you to confidently guide small-business clients toward retirement plan decisions that align with their business operations. Presented by Mark Ribas, CPA, President and CEO of Pennsylvania Tax Institutes, Inc., and a retired IRS Internal Revenue Agent with 38 years of federal tax experience.