Farm Bill Education Workshops Planned for August Across Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, MD (July 3, 2014) – The 2014 Farm Bill will bring changes for dairy and grain farmers in Maryland. Farmers are encouraged to participate in a series of workshops to be held across the state in August to prepare for decisions they will need to make to participate in 2014 Farm Bill programs.  The workshops are sponsored by the University of Maryland’s Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (AREC), University of Maryland Extension, Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), USDA – Risk Management Agency, and USDA-Farm Service Agency.

The 2014 Farm Bill is complex and details of how the bill will be implemented are not expected to be available until early August. The purpose of the workshops is to provide farmers with a better understanding of the new programs in the farm bill and how these programs could potentially affect their operations. The workshops will also provide grain and dairy producers with details about the decisions they will need to make and provide them with decision tools.

Each workshop costs $10 and covers the cost of lunch.  The following workshop schedule includes topics to be covered at each session:

• Lower Shore – August 12 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), Wicomico Extension Office, commodity programs;
• Upper Shore – August 13 (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Queen Anne’s County Fairgrounds, commodity programs;
• Southern Maryland – August 15 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), St. Mary’s Agricultural Service Center, 26737 Radio Station Way, Leonardtown, MD 20650, commodity programs;
• Northern Maryland – August 18 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), Baltimore County Ag Center, 1114 Shawan Rd, Cockeysville, MD 21030, commodity and dairy programs;
• Central Maryland – August 19 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), Dutch’s Daughter Restaurant, 581 Himes Avenue, Frederick, MD 21703, dairy programs; and
• Western Maryland – August 21 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.), location TBA, dairy programs.

For more information on the workshops, contact the local University of Maryland Extension office.

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