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Maryland Department of Agriculture News
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Celebrating Maryland Agriculture |
September 2011 |
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Secretary’s Corner
As this newsletter is published, USDA is assessing crop damage resulting from Hurricane Irene. In those areas where there is a 30 percent or more crop loss, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will issue a Secretarial Disaster Designation to help farmers recover from those losses. Some areas of Maryland will likely exceed that threshold. An important reminder to farmers: contact your crop insurance agent or Farm Service Agency Service Centers, as applicable, to report crop damage or livestock loss.
USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have announced that assistance will be available to farmers whose crops were damaged by severe flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. USDA and FDA are working closely together to ensure that farmers are compensated for flood-damaged crops that cannot be marketed. Additional resources to help farmers deal with crop loss may be found at www.usda.gov/disaster.
We continuously look for innovative risk management tools for our farmers, and recent weather events have demonstrated the importance of using crop insurance as one of those tools. For the first time, Maryland producers of pasture and hay, and beekeepers can apply for the Group Risk Protection by enrolling in the Rainfall Index Program. We hope this program will help an important part of agriculture in Maryland: livestock and equine producers, hay producers and beekeepers.
Earlier this month we celebrated the 130th Maryland State Fair. Congratulations to Steven Ernst and St. Mary’s County Government who received 2011 Smart, Green and Growing Awards from Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown during the Agriculture Day/Volunteer Day luncheon at the fair.
Congratulations also to Casey Miller, 16, who was named Miss Maryland Agriculture 2011 at the Maryland State Fair. Miss Miller of Clinton in Prince George’s County grew up on the 250-acre family owned Miller Farms, one of the oldest working farms in the state that provides fresh produce, soy beans, wheat, straw, and flowers. Her family has farmed the land since 1840. She is entering her junior year at St. Mary’s Ryken High School.
If you missed your local fair or agricultural show, there are still a few more left this season – I encourage you to get out, enjoy the beautiful weather and support our farmers!
“Locavores” continue to drive consumer demand. This summer our Marketing Office launched a new Maryland’s Best website to better connect Maryland farmers with consumers. Buy local campaigns are taking off in stores, restaurants, institutions and schools across the state.
This week we recognized more than 40 MDA employees with Long Service Awards for dedicating their careers to public service. MDA and the agriculture community are fortunate to have such a dedicated and knowledgeable corps of employees working to strengthen the State of Maryland and this agency each and every day. For more than 35 years, MDA has been protecting consumers and the environment and ensuring fairness in the marketplace. It is a true testament to the value of our work that many of the employees honored this year have been with the department since its earliest years.
With fall comes the harvest of our summer field crops, the transition from summer to winter vegetables, planning for winter cover crops, and the start of next year’s plans. We thank the nearly two dozen farmers on the Eastern Shore who have allowed the Maryland Food Bank to glean 410,000 pounds of produce out of their field and feed nearly 80,000 families. Our farmers continue to show that agriculture is not just an industry, but a way of life – one in which there is a strong concern for their neighbors, their land and the future of our state and its citizens.
With a strong agricultural industry, we not only keep land open and productive and people employed, we provide a local food supply for our most vulnerable citizens. No wonder Maryland’s agricultural sector has such a respected tradition!
Sincerely,
Buddy Hance
Secretary
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Gov. O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Brown Highlight Agriculture, Volunteerism at State Fair
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Gov. O’Malley, Lt. Gov. Brown (left) and Agriculture Sec. Buddy Hance (right) present Government Innovation Award to St. Mary’s County.
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Governor Martin O’Malley, joined by Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown and Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, addressed state agricultural and volunteerism leaders during the combined Governor’s Volunteer and Agriculture Day luncheon at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium on Sept. 1. The Governor’s and Lt. Governor’s remarks celebrated farming and volunteerism as the foundations of our state and the keys to a sustainable and civil future for all Marylanders.
During the luncheon, Governor O’Malley presented the 2011 Smart, Green and Growing Excellence in Agricultural Stewardship Award to Steven Ernst for his long history of sustainable, conservation farming. Governor O’Malley also presented the 2011 Smart, Green and Growing Government Innovation Award to St. Mary’s County Government for its work with citizens and other stakeholders to codify new laws to successfully save the county’s agricultural heritage. For more information
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Graham Motion is First “Touch of Class” Award Recipient
Maryland Horse Industry Board Presents Inaugural Awards
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Graham Motion (center) accepts award from Secretary Hance (right) and Horse Industry Board Chair Jim Steele (left).
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Graham Motion, the Maryland-based trainer who won this year’s Kentucky Derby with Animal Kingdom and currently ranks as the nation’s fourth leading trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses, received the Maryland Horse Industry Board‘s (MHIB) first “Touch of Class” Award on Sept. 6. The newly instituted monthly awards program honors a Maryland horse, individual, team, organization or event who demonstrates the highest standard of excellence in the Maryland horse industry. For more information.
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St. Mary’s Kicks Off MD Homegrown School Lunch Week
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Cornelia, a corn mascot, and Secretary Hance during Homegrown School Lunch Week
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Educators, farmers, and state and local officials gathered with students at Benjamin Banneker Elementary School in St. Mary’s County kicked off the 4th annual Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week by eating healthy lunches, full of locally-grown fruits and vegetables. Students (and officials) also enjoyed hands-on outdoor educational activities with farmers that underscored the connection between healthy food and the local farms that grow it. Governor Martin O’Malley officially designated September 12-16, 2011, as Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week in an effort to promote the importance of farming to Maryland’s economy. For more information.
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USDA Awards Grant to Manage Eastern Shore Ditches
Grant will help implement nutrient reduction technologies
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An Eastern Shore ditch |
MDA has been awarded a $650,760 State Conservation Innovation Grant from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to implement progressive management practices for drainage systems on the Eastern Shore and help the state meet its Watershed Implementation Plan goals. There are 820 miles of public ditches on the Eastern Shore — most of them constructed in the 1960s and 1970s — that have a drainage area of 220,000 acres. MDA is responsible for ensuring that each drainage system has an approved maintenance plan in place. For more information. |
MD Vet Board to Accept PAVE Certification
The Maryland State Board of Veterinary Examiners – the body that licenses veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary hospital owners – will now consider licensing veterinary graduates who have received certification from the Program for Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE), which gives graduates of non-accredited veterinary medical colleges (i.e., usually veterinarians educated outside the U.S.) a second avenue by which to become licensed to practice veterinary medicine.
For more information |
September is National Disaster Preparedness Month
USDA Tool Helps Production Ag Prepare
USDA has released a free, online tool — ReadyAG — to help farm managers better prepare and respond to all types of damaging incidents and disasters. ReadyAG is designed to help identify vulnerabilities and prioritize actions to make agricultural operations more resilient and sustainable in the face of adversity. ReadyAG begins with a general preparedness assessment then has commodity-specific sections including cattle, crops, dairy, fruit and vegetable, swine, and poultry. The assessments can be filled out online and will automatically populate a customized action plan to address items identified as vulnerabilities with a high priority to mitigate.
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MDA Highlights Consumer Services at State Fair
MDA does more than just work with farmers to ensure sound farmland management practices. It helps ensure the wise use of fertilizers and pesticides, monitors the accuracy of weights and measures, controls mosquito populations, and protects the health of humans and animals…and much more. MDA highlighted many of the services it provides to improve the quality of life in Maryland during the 130th Maryland State Fair, Aug. 26 to Sept. 5 in Timonium.
For more information about what MDA does. |
Hurricane Irene Packed a Punch
MDA was among the state agencies which fully activated during Hurricane Irene and participated in staffing the Maryland Emergency Management Agency’s Joint Operations Center and Joint Information Center. Secretary Buddy Hance also attended on-site briefings with the Governor and other cabinet secretaries and officials, working to ensure that Marylanders were as prepared as possible.
Hurricane Irene damaged farms and agricultural operations around the state, but preliminary assessments indicate that damage to crops was relatively contained. Livestock and soybeans fared well, but about 200 acres of watermelons and 600 acres of string beans were destroyed or badly damaged. Drought-stricken corn crops were also pummeled, although many fields had already been harvested. Farmers who experienced hurricane damage are reminded to stay in close contact with their crop insurance agents.
Sheltering both people and pets during natural disasters is a local responsibility, but MDA is required to coordinate pet sheltering efforts and provide assistance and services when local jurisdictions reach capacity. MDA’s Animal Health Section had two emergency preparedness teams fully activated and ready to deploy with equipment, veterinary services and supplies, and other resources. During Hurricane Irene, 21 local shelters around the state accepted 380 companion animals. MDA also distributed a press release prior to the hurricane coming ashore, urging people to evacuate with their pets rather than stay behind with them, and provided information on how to prepare an emergency evacuation kit for pets as well as how to find shelters that accepted pets. (When Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, many residents refused to evacuate because their pets couldn’t come with them. As a result, federal law changed to require pets to be managed along with people in disasters. MDA is responsible for developing and implementing the Maryland Pet Sheltering Plan, which is activated when mass care evacuation centers open, as they did during Hurricane Irene.)
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Inside MDA:
News Assistant Secretary, CIO Named Carol Holko, who has served as Program Manager of MDA’s Plant Protection and Weed Management Section since 2004, has been promoted to Assistant Secretary of the Office of Plant Industries and Pest Management. Holko will now be responsible for: pesticide regulation, mosquito control, forest pest management, turf and seed, the state chemist, and plant protection and weed management. The office enforces state and federal laws, regulations and quarantines related to the management of pests that affect the health of crops, forests, and nursery stock. The office also ensures the quality of commercial agricultural products, turf and seed products, and nursery plants. It also offers educational programs for regulated industries and consumers.For more information.
Carrie DeBoy has joined the MDA staff as Chief Information Officer (CIO). DeBoy worked with the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) for the last 11 years, most recently as the Assistant IT Director of the agency’s Office of Operations and Support. While at MDTA, DeBoy worked on high profile network infrastructure projects that required the coordination of multiple state agencies and private contractors, most notably the high speed toll road on the Inter-County Connector (ICC) and the License Place Reader System in the Fort McHenry tunnel. At MDA, DeBoy will be responsible for overseeing MDA’s Information Technology Services office which is responsible for the installation, maintenance and upgrade of all computer hardware, software, and networking. For more information. |
Featured Recipe: Smokey Apple & Butternut Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large onions, finely chopped (about 4-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks (about 6 cups)
1 pound sweet apples, peeled and cut into chunks (about 3-1/2 cups)
1 cup apple juice (more if necessary)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions:
Heat oil and butter in large saucepan; add onions and chili powder; cook and stir until onions are tender, about 10 minutes. Add squash, apples, apple juice, chicken broth, salt and pepper; bring to boil. Cover and cook on low heat until apples and squash are very soft, about 30 minutes. Cool. Puree with an immersion blender or a food processor; return to saucepan. Add additional apple juice or broth, if needed. Garnish with toasted pecans, sour cream swirls and thin apple slices, if desired. Yields 7 cups.
Recipe courtesy of U.S. Apple Association.
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Upcoming Events
- From the Bay, For the Bay, Oct.2-9
- 44th Annual Autumn Glory Festival, Garrett County, Oct. 12-16,
- The Stomp Festival, Frederick County, Oct. 1-2 and Oct. 8-9
- Butler’s Orchard Pumpkin Festival, Germantown, Weekends in October
- Darlington Apple Festival, Darlington, Oct. 1
- Maryland Renaissance Festival, Annapolis, Various Dates in October
- Riverside WineFest at Sotterley, St. Mary’s County, Oct. 1-2
- Creepy Crawlers Program “The Stinky Stink Bug,” Queen Anne’s County, Oct. 4
- Patuxent River Appreciation Days, Solomons Island, Oct. 8
- 3rd Annual A-Maze-ing Corn Maze, Queenstown, Oct. 8
- Olde Princess Anne Days/1812 Heritage Festival, Princess Anne, Oct 8-9,
- Tilghman Island Day Festival, Easton, Oct. 5
- Autumn Wine Festival, Salisbury, Oct. 15-16
- Calvert County Farm Tour, Prince Frederick, Oct. 16
- Maryland Seafood Festivals, multiple dates
- Vegetable Gardening Classes and Events (multiple dates/locations)
- Maryland Agricultural Fairs and Shows (multiple dates/locations)
- Maryland Farmers Markets (multiple dates/locations)
- Maryland Agricultural Fairs
- Pick Your Own Farm Markets
- For other events and happenings, see Maryland Office of Tourism
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We invite your feedback.
Thank you for reading our latest publication. We are always looking for ways to improve how we serve our constituents. Please send your comments, suggestions and ideas to mdanews@mda.state.md.us or call 410-841-5881.
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Contact Info
Julie Oberg, Communications Director, 410-841-5888, obergja@mda.state.md.us
Vanessa Orlando, Public Information Officer, 410-841-5889, orlandva@mda.state.md.us |
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Maryland’s Best Promotes Fresh, Juicy Apples
Locally Grown, Maryland Apples Offer the Best Taste of Fall
Maryland’s Best is your source to find the best local products from Maryland farmers. Click here to find where you can purchase local apples to enjoy.Learn more about apple varieties grown in Maryland and find delicious recipes.
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