Urban Ag Extension

• Urban Farmer Field School at StL2
  Jun 30
  Baltimore, MD

• Biological Control Conference
  Jun 30 & Jul 1
  Linthicum Heights, MD
   
• Urban Farmer Field School at ACDC
  Jul 8
  Baltimore, MD
   
• WIA Webinar: When Self Help Isn't Enough
  Jul 13
  Online
   
• Green Roof Symposium
  July 14-15
  College Park, MD
   
• WIA Webinar: How to Conduct Market Research
  Jul 27
  Online

See more Extension events on the website here.

By USDA-NASS

Agriculture producers who did not receive the 2017 Census of Agriculture
and do not receive other USDA surveys or censuses have until June 30 to sign up to receive the 2022 Census of Agriculture at nass.usda.gov/AgCensus  

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will mail ag census survey codes for responding securely online to every known U.S. producer this November. Hard copy questionnaires will follow in December.

The ag census, conducted for over 180 years, remains the only source of comprehensive and impartial agricultural data for every state and county in the nation. It includes every operation – large or small, urban or rural – from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products are produced and sold, or would normally be produced and sold, in the ag census year.

“Your information matters, every response allows us to accurately tell a comprehensive
story about the health and welfare of US agriculture, information that is supported by the data you supply,” said NASS Maryland State Statistician Shareefah Williams. “Your response is your right and your opportunity to be heard and counted.  Help us by sharing YOUR story.”

This spring I was lucky to have an excellent intern in my office, Meleesa Gutierrez. She used her communications and videography experience to edit together some footage we had into new educational videos for you all. 

Farm to school videos: If you are interested in selling what you produce to local schools, or if you'd just enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour of a Maryland elementary cafeteria, check out this series of Farm to School videos, recorded as part of a USDA funded collaboration between Maryland Department of Agriculture, UMD Extension, and the Maryland Department of Education. 

If you are interested in mushroom production, check out this video highlighting last fall's mushroom production workshop. 

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has partnered with Florida A&M University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore on a project to work with socially disadvantaged individuals and communities, centering their voices and learning from their experiences.

The project team will conduct nationwide listening sessions and evaluate the AMS grant application and review process from the view of these groups in cooperation with a vast network of universities, community organizations, and food system practitioners. Project participants will share their experiences and discuss their needs along with any barriers they have faced. The knowledge gained from these discussions will be used to develop training materials, technical assistance programs, and other resources.

Topics to be discussed during the listening sessions include, but are not limited to:

• Perceptions of the relationships between the USDA and socially disadvantaged communities and what can be done to strengthen them. This includes getting a better understanding of the historical experiences that individuals have had with USDA AMS grants.
• Barriers to entry, challenges, opportunities, or other concerns relating to socially disadvantaged individuals, including successfully applying for Federal grants and how USDA can mitigate identified challenges. What additional tools could help grant applicants to submit successful applications for competitive funding.
• Input from participants, who have applied previously, on their experiences working with USDA, grants management specialists, and getting access to information/resources.
• Grant recipients’ experiences working with AMS including positive interactions, challenges faced while executing the grant agreement and identifying future opportunities to provide culturally appropriate technical assistance.

As you read this newsletter, I should be out on a tour of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's agricultural research and demonstration plots. I wanted to share with you a taste of what I'm seeing, with this profile of Dr. Naveen Kumar's research and demonstration fruit orchard, written by Sean Clougherty and published last summer in the DelMarVa Farmer. 

"After two years of growth, fruit trees planted in a Wicomico County demonstration orchard are beginning to bear fruit, but the project has generated community engagement since the trees went in the ground.

The mini-orchard of 46 pear, plum, peach and apple trees is a project University of Maryland Eastern Shore and its chapter of the Well Connected Communities initiative aimed at community development through fruit production and education."

Read more here...