Secretary Buddy Hance enjoys a hay ride with students visiting a Baltimore County farm.

 

Colleen Rutledge, Shiraz

Colleen Rutledge, a mother of three children who is chasing her Olympic dream in the equestrian sport of 3-Day Eventing, received the Maryland Horse Industry Board’s (MHIB) second “Touch Of Class Award” along with her horse, Shiraz. The award was presented during ceremonies at the Maryland Million horse race at Laurel Park this month. The MHIB presents the Award monthly to showcase outstanding horses and people who represent the highest standards of excellence in Maryland’s equine community. For more information.

Commission members learn about growing hydroponic tomatoes

The Maryland Agricultural Commission toured agricultural enterprises in Garrett and Allegany counties and held a public meeting to garner citizen input on important local issues this month. The commission is presently made up of 24 members who represent commodities and organizations across the state and serve as an advisory body to Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture. As a group, the members address legislative and policy issues that affect Maryland agribusiness. The tour took the group through unique agricultural operations, including an alpaca farm, a Christmas tree farm, a diversified small family farm, a cheese making venture, and a farm run on solar and wind power and an Amish farm growing hydroponic tomatoes and high tunnel raspberries. The public meeting provided local citizens interested in farming and rural topics to discuss issues and policies affecting agriculture and rural communities with Commission members and the Secretary.

MDA will award $420,123 in grants that will enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops in Maryland through the Maryland Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. Specialty crops are defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops. The 2008 Farm Bill dedicated significant grant funding for specialty crops. Funds help farmers and value-added producers advance and promote local specialty crops in the marketplace, spark new markets, job creation and help keep Maryland smart, green and growing. For more information.

Five agriculture laws passed during the 2011 Legislative Session went into effect October 1. The laws impact farmland preservation, invasive plants, veterinary practice regulations, and farm-to-school reporting requirements. All five bills are important to the work and mission of MDA. For more information.

Maryland Pre-Release Inmates Assist with Gleaning Efforts

Twenty-three Eastern Shore farmers donated 423,000 pounds of produce to the Maryland Food Bank’s newly launched Farm to Food Bank program

The Nagel Family Farm

between mid-June and late September. That amount equates to 325,385 meals — or 81,346 meals for a family of four, according to the Maryland Food Bank.

In a process called gleaning, farmers open their fields after harvest and allow others to take what is left for charitable purposes. Produce gleaned from the Eastern Shore so far includes watermelon, cantaloupe, zucchini, squash, sweet corn, peaches, green beans, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, broccoli, carrots, and green peppers. Inmates from the Maryland Division of Correction (DOC) have contributed to the effort for several weeks this summer by gleaning for six Eastern Shore farms through an initiative called Public Safety Works. For more information.

For the first time, farm operators statewide will be able to dispose of unusable or unwanted agricultural pesticides this year under a program sponsored by MDA in cooperation with the Maryland Department of the Environment, the University of Maryland Extension and other organizations. The Pesticide Disposal Program has been available to producers since 1995; however, this is the first year the program will be open to operators statewide. More than 170,000 pounds of unusable or unwanted pesticides have been collected from more than 330 farm sites since the program was initiated. The 2011 program is free to farmers, nurserymen, greenhouse operators and Christmas tree growers. Registration forms must be submitted by January 16, 2012. For more information.

Congratulations to St. Mary’s County and the more than three dozen Potomac Building employees for their creative efforts that enabled them to win the “Buy Local Challenge at the Workplace” contest!

 

Secretary Hance visited with the employees who were awarded a local lunch courtesy of the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission catered by Blue Wind Gourmet. He presented the winning team with a basket of local goodies and citations.

While in St. Mary’s County, Secretary Hance, led by agricultural specialist Donna Sasscer, toured the new Leonardtown Farmers’ Market and visited with farmer vendors and consumers. He also met with more than a dozen St. Mary’s County farmers to discuss local agricultural issues and concerns.

Deputy Secretary Setting (left) honors Bettie McCaffrey (Center) and Janet Crutchley

MDA honored 41 employees for their years of dedicated service to the department. Janet Crutchley with the Office of Resource Conservation and Bettie McCaffrey with the Office of Marketing, Animal Industries and Consumer Services received special recognition for 40 outstanding years of public service. Shaun Sanders of the Office of Resource Conservation was honored for 35 years of service.

Six employees were honored for 30 years of service, and 14 employees were honored for 25 years. The remaining honorees were recognized for public service of 10, 15, or 20 years. For more information.

Turf and Seed Analysts Receive National Certification
MDA’s two newest Turf and Seed analysts have been certified in germination testing by the Association of Official Seed Analysts – the national organization that sets the rules for seed tests. Seed analysts Kim MacFarland and Kumara Kadawedduwa received this prestigious certification after taking both a written and practical exam. A seed analyst must be on the job two years before they can even take the test. Both analysts had been with MDA almost exactly two years when they took the test. Both passed on the first try. All other seed analysts at MDA are certified in germination and purity testing. Kim and Kumara will take the purity examination in the spring. Congratulations to both for meeting this professional milestone.

MDA’s Scott Rowe has been named Outstanding Inspector of the Year for the U.S. Environmental Protection Area’s Region III. Rowe is a pesticide investigator, assigned to the mid and upper Eastern Shore and Harford County. Scott was nominated for the award by his supervisor Petey Councell, who said, “A pesticide investigator is unique for the reasons of having to endure relationships with persons who really don’t enjoy their presence, while operating as an army of one.” Councell wrote that Rowe’s work is “well above acceptable standards” and that Rowe “has evolved into an exceptional pesticide investigator.” Congratulations, Scott!

 

MDA was among several state agencies involved in Maryland’s Smart, Green and Growing (SGG) Initiative to provide workshops and information for volunteers and guests at ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which conducted a “Sustainable Build” in Mardela Springs on the lower Eastern Shore. MDA and other public and private partners provided sustainability information and workshops in nearby tents for volunteers and spectators.Presentations include workshops on Backyard Habitat, Energy Conservation, Plan Maryland, Rain Barrels, Rain Gardens, Recycling, Recycling, Water Pollution and more.

Also during the build, Governor Martin O’Malley announced the makeover of the State’s Smart, Green & Growing website. The re-design will help citizens, businesses and local governments more easily find their way to an increasing number of sustainable programs, services and ideas.For more information.

Maryland’s Best Promotes Locally Raised Turkeys
Support Maryland Farmers, Buy Local 

Go green and buy local by serving local, farm-fresh turkeys from one of the dozens of Maryland turkey growers across the state. Maryland consumers have a wide variety of locally-raised turkeys to choose from.  The Maryland Department of Agriculture is promoting local turkeys through its Maryland’s Best branding program, which helps state producers sell their products and helps consumers locate the products. Click here for a list of farms and businesses that carry locally-produced turkeys and other meat products.