Extension

You're invited to the 8th Annual Urban Farmer Winter Meeting, organized by UMD Extension.
Attend this annual professional development event to be updated on the latest local issues and research results.

This year we will meet at Allen AME Church, in Baltimore, MD. A big thank you to them for allowing us to meet in their space this year.

Draft agenda:
- Panel on land access
- Allen AME's experiences with community development through gardening
- Updates from new Urban Agriculture Extension Specialists
- Preliminary results of rainwater harvesting and treatment research
- Dinner and networking
More to be announced soon!

Registration and attendance options
In person attendance is capped at 60. This event will also be broadcast online. In the event of inclement weather, we will move the event fully online.

Registration is $15, plus eventbrite fees. This registration fee enables us to pay for dinner for in-person attendees and for the broadcast equipment to enable online attendance.

If this cost is a financial barrier to your participation, please fill out this scholarship application: https://ume.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5BwkBtD8wSdTNdQ

Get cozy while learning about how types of tea are grown and looking at tea's connection to American history. 

This course is designed for people in Maryland who are considering or in the beginning stages of starting a farm as a business.
A 10 week online course covering the foundational topics an aspiring farmer in Maryland should know.
Classes will meet on Thursday evenings, from 7 to 8:30 pm, from February 13 through April 17, 2025 online.
Course registration is $60 plus eventbrite fees of $5.87. Two people from the same family/couple may attend the course under one registration. If the registration fee is is a financial barrier, please fill out the scholarship application available through the registration link.

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.

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/…

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. 

Become a plant detective and enhance your diagnostic skills! Join Madeline Potter, UME Faculty Specialist for Entomology & IPM, for a three-part plant diagnostic training series with a focus on diagnosing plant damage by insects and other arthropods. Live attendance is highly encouraged to participate in interactive portions of the training, but each training will be recorded if you cannot join us live. Training topics will include diagnostic tools, identification of plant damage categories and types, identification of common arthropod pests, plant diagnostic case studies, and more. Participants will have the opportunity to put their new skills to practice by virtually submitting monthly plant damage specimens. Register to receive webinar recording links and materials.

Schedule:
-Sept. 11th: Diagnosing plant problems
-Oct. 9th: Insect identification
-Nov. 13th: Integrated pest management & working with the public

Join Baltimore City, Maryland based non-profit Backyard Basecamp for their annual Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 27th from 2pm to 6pm (EST). The festival will feature local vendors, family-friendly activities, cooking and food demonstrations, workshops, crafts, food, music and more!

Extension Educator Madeline Potter, will be tabling with an activity about sustainable fall gardening and the benefits of leaving the leaves.

Event Highlights:
-Cooking Demos & Tastings: Savor mouthwatering cooking demonstrations and tastings that will tantalize your taste buds.
-Fun for Kids: Enjoy face painting, pony rides, pumpkin carving, and more activities designed for kids and families.
-Local Vendors: Explore the talents of local vendors and discover unique, handcrafted items.
-Food Truck Delights: Treat yourself to delectable offerings from our food truck.
-Farmstand with Chloe: We’re bringing back the farmstand with Chloe, who will be selling our amazing produce and farm goods.

Join the University of Maryland Extension Master Gardeners in Queen Anne's County for our Annual Seed Swap and Garden Day on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at the Kent Island Branch of the Queen Anne's County Public Library. This event is free and open to everyone. You do not need to bring seeds to receive seeds. Please label any seeds you bring so that other swappers know what they are getting. Seeds are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this activity please contact your local University of Maryland Extension Office, Rachel Rhodes (410) 758-0166 or rjrhodes@umd.edu by February 7, 2025.

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.

Please save the date for our fall Pumpkin Twilight Tour from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15th. The event will take place at our farm at the Wye Research and Education Center at 211 Farm Lane Queenstown, MD 21658.