Agricultural and Resources Economics (AREC)

Complementing the options to visit and tour the University of Maryland, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) will be hosting college-specific Information Sessions on select visit days. Prospective students and their families will have the chance to learn about AGNR, its majors, minors, student clubs and more! Each Info Session will also provide an opportunity for visitors to interact with current students in these agricultural- and environmental science-based majors. Each session will include an opportunity to interact with representatives of the majors in AGNR.

Join us on October 5th, 2024 for a family fun day at at the farm to see agriculture education in action! Events are geared for children and include tractor races, milking contest, feed bag toss, compost chaos, egg operation, and more! This family event is free to attend and is located at the Frederick County Farm Museum Fall Fest at Rose Hill Manor Park in Frederick, MD. We hope to see you there!

You're invited to the annual College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Welcome Back Bash on Thursday, September 19th from 4-6 pm in the ANSC Courtyard.

Join your fellow AGNR Terps at this celebration and connect with student organizations, AGNR academic departments, faculty, staff, and administrators for FREE FOOD, FUN, PRIZES, GIVEAWAYS, and so much more. 

All AGNR students are welcome to join us and strongly encouraged to show your AGNR Spirit by wearing the color of your department listed below: 

• AREC - Orange
• ANSC - Red
• ENSP - Purple
• ENST - Blue
• IAA - White/Gray
• NFSC - Yellow
• PSLA - Green
• Vet Med - Black

All others, come in your favorite UMD gear! 

Bring your student ID and be sure to check in at our welcome table to be eligible for raffle prizes. 

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. This workshop will present information on common crop insect pest identification and biology, monitoring and thresholds, preventive and nonchemical pest control methods, and chemical controls.

Workshops will be repeated in two locations:

On September 30, 2024, in Queenstown, MD.

On October 1, 2024, at the University of Maryland Extension Montgomery County Office (18410 Muncaster Rd, Derwood, MD 20855)

Each workshop will be from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with lunch included.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Emily Zobel at ezobel@umd.edu or 410-228-8800 by September 11, 2024.

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 SNE22-005-MD and NIFA award 2021-70006-35384. Empowering small-scaled, limited-resource and other farmers with IPM knowledge.

Come learn tips and tricks for navigating USAJobs, the federal government's exclusive job board. The Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, who manages much of the hiring for the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Join Dean Beyrouty for a discussion and Q&A with Lisa Munoz, Founder and President of SciComm Services, science content strategist and author of Women in Science Now.

Residents of Queen Anne’s County are invited to attend an upcoming Solar Visioning Info Session to learn about utility-scale solar development and participate in facilitated discussions. This session aims to educate the public on regional utility-scale solar development and provide a platform for community dialogue on various aspects of solar projects. The insights gathered from this community conversation will inform local leaders, government officials, and the research team about resident perceptions of solar development. The discussion will help shape the following:
• Community vision
• Comprehensive planning, including solar overlay maps
• Strategies for landowners to negotiate with solar developers
• Strategies for communities to negotiate with solar developers.

Your participation will help University of Maryland (UMD) Extension and public officials in understanding how to proactively engage communities in planning for solar energy land use.
Recognizing that many rural landowners may be approached by developers, our goal is to enhance the solar siting process by incorporating the voices and priorities of local and county
government and community members. A summary report will be provided to all participants later in the summer.

This event is organized in partnership with Queen Anne’s County Government, MDA’s Maryland Agricultural Conflict Resolution Service, UMD’s Agriculture Law and Education Initiative, and
UMD Extension. UMD Extension provides Maryland residents with the highest quality of public service, distinguished educational programming, and cutting-edge research through the
dissemination of unbiased research-based educational information. The upcoming Solar Visioning Info Session is free to attend, but registration is required. For more information and
to register, visit go.umd.edu/QASolar. Register by August 12, 2024 to secure a dinner meal and to receive a gift valued at $25 when you attend the meeting. We look forward to your
participation in this important community event. For more information, or if you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please contact Drew Schiavone (dschiavo@umd.edu; 301-226-7581).

The first inaugural conference of its kind, the 2024 Cultivating Innovation in Maryland's Agriculture and Technology Conference has been designed to empower farmers and other agriculture industry stakeholders by providing in-depth knowledge of the latest and most promising technologies transforming the agricultural sector. By embracing cutting-edge agriculture technologies, farmers can significantly boost yields, enhance efficiency, and ultimately achieve greater profitability.

Cultivating Next-Gen Agritech Innovation with a Wide Selection of Conference Topics

The conference agenda boasts a diverse range of topics, including:

- Introduction to Technology: Gain a foundational understanding of the role technology is playing in modern agriculture practices when it comes to streamlining operations and improving productivity
-Uses and Applicability: Learn about the practical applications of technology across various farming and agriculture sectors.
-Data Management & Analytics: Discover best practices and explore the ways data is being used to improve crop yields and efficiency for a more sustainable and profitable future.
-Resource Management: Learn how drones, GIS, water management, precision farming, yield monitors, and other tech are being used successfully.
-Current Implementations: Hear first-hand experiences from early adopters who are already utilizing these hardware and software technologies in their fields.
-Future Outlook: Get a glimpse into the exciting future of agriculture technology, with insights into upcoming innovations and advancements expected in the next 3-5 years.

This conference is ideal for farmers from all sectors of agriculture, agriculture-related companies, University of Maryland Extension faculty, and USDA and other government agency workers.

Don't miss this opportunity to connect with fellow farmers, industry professionals, and experts in the field. Together, let's cultivate innovation and drive Maryland's agriculture sector toward a more technologically advanced and prosperous future.

This twilight tour will feature watermelons, sweet corn, and tomatoes.

The event is free to attend.

Saltwater intrusion represents one of the foremost challenges related to climate change facing farmers in coastal communities in the Mid-Atlantic region. SALT, a two-day conference focused on saltwater intrusion and sea level rise in coastal agroecosystems, will be held June 11 and 12, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency in Cambridge, Md., and hopes to address what is happening in academics and on the ground to face it.

SALT stands for “Salinity-Affected Lands in Transition.” The conference will feature expert speakers discussing saltwater intrusion and sea level rise, case studies of areas across the country and hemisphere, environmental justice, coastal farming, ghost forests, adaptation solutions and mitigation strategies.

“The SALT Conference will bring together practitioners, policy-makers, and scientists to discuss issues related to sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion across the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S. I am excited to share some of our lessons learned from projects in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia (funded by USDA-NIFA, NFWF, and the NSF) and learn from others who are facing similar challenges across the U.S. and the world,” said Dr. Kate Tully, a University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources researcher investigating saltwater intrusion on the Delmarva Peninsula. “The SALT conference will provide a platform for information sharing, partnership building, and networking. I'm hoping for a great turnout.”

This conference highlights research being conducted by the University of Maryland (UMD) Agroecology Lab, the University of Delaware (UD) and George Washington University (GWU) on the Delmarva Peninsula, which comprises the coastal areas of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. The partners have been researching the extent and economic impact of saltwater intrusion in the region and developing potential mitigation strategies for land affected by saltwater intrusion. The Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology has been partnering with researchers from these institutions on outreach and stakeholder engagement for the project.

This research and conference are supported by grants from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the National Science Foundation. People can register for the conference online at go.umd.edu/SALT. Registration is open until June 3, 2024.

This conference is complemented by a podcast series called Delmarva’s Invisible Flood. The three-episode series features conversations with the researchers at UMD, UD and GWU who are working on the ground to test and implement mitigation strategies, map saltwater intrusion’s extent, and deduce its impact on society. The podcast series can be found at hughescenter.podbean.com.