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 Maryland Department of Agriculture News
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| Celebrating Maryland Agriculture |
September 2009 |
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Secretary’s Corner
Change. Change is in the air. The change from summer to fall and all it means to us farmers; the change MDA and our customers are experiencing due to the difficult state budget situation; and the change for farmers in the tools we have to reach consumers and reduce excess nutrients that may exist on our farms. I use the words “we, our, and us” in this context because I am both a farmer and a government official. I know farming and what it means to be a farmer who is trying to grow a crop and navigate today’s business and regulatory ends of farming. I continue to learn what it means to be a government official and to lead the MDA family as we serve the agricultural community and all citizens of Maryland. One of the many things I have learned since I’ve been at MDA is that the people here are as hard working, good intentioned and resilient as any farmer.
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. The Maryland Agricultural Statistics Service recently projected a strong harvest of corn and soybeans and farmers have enrolled 330,000 acres in the cover crop program this fall.
MDA, along with most state agencies and many businesses, is experiencing the effects of a serious budget shortfall caused by the nation’s economic troubles of the past year or so. One of the most visible of the impacts is the consolidation of the five animal health diagnostic laboratories down to two labs. While this is a major change for our livestock producers, veterinary customers and affected employees, we will provide all of the same services as before. They will not be as convenient for some, but they will be available.
The most hurtful of the changes is the need to abolish positions to meet the budget. We at MDA are doing the best that we can by our employees to help them through this difficult time.
From the new tools perspective, we can look to USDA and its new Know your Farmer, Know your Food initiative to learn about new opportunities for farmers. Here in Maryland, Governor O’Malley with MDA is leading the way with similar shifts under the Smart, Green and Growing umbrella to promote “buy local” efforts in stores, on farms, in schools and everywhere local products can be sold and to look for ways to take down barriers to those markets. We are maintaining farmland preservation fundingas well as cost-share for best management practices. For dairy producers, Governor O’Malley has joined his fellow governors in seeking federal assistance.
Here at MDA, amid all of our changes, we are seeking and receiving funds to help farmers with environmental issues. For example, the Talbot Soil Conservation District will help determine the effectiveness of cover crops in taking up excess nutrients in certain conditions thanks to a recent Chesapeake Bay grant. At the same time, MDA received a grant to develop a nutrient trading marketplace that will help reduce nutrient loading while offering farmers incentives to increase BMP implementation. Finally, we believe a determination on a legal challenge regarding animal feeding operation regulations has been made so that we can move forward with some certainty of rules.
All of this change can be disconcerting. As a farmer, I tend to be optimistic about what change can mean, how we can tap the opportunities and meet a changing market place or a changing regulatory landscape. As a government employee, I take the same view – to look at the opportunity that these difficult times present to reshape what we do individually and as a group, to focus on our core mission, and to serve our “customers” in the best way we can.
Thank you. I wish you all the best,
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 Cecil County Declared “Capital for a Day”
Governor O’Malley joined state and local elected officials and the public for an official Cabinet Meeting at Fairwinds Farm in North East on August 27 to declare Cecil County “Capital for a Day.” As part of the celebration, MDA Secretary Buddy Hance held an informal “meet and greet” with about 20 members of the Cecil County agricultural community at Kilby Cream in Rising Sun. Governor O’Malley, Sec. Hance, and a number of other Cabinet officials concluded the day with a visit to Cecil School of Technology for a lunch made by culinary arts students with many locally-grown products. Sec. Hance toured the horticulture facilities. The monthly program brings the State government to every corner of Maryland through a series of events across a diverse selection of Maryland cities, towns and communities. The next Capital for a Day is on September 23 in Frederick.
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 Md. Homegrown School Lunch Week
The 2nd annual Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week kicked off at Hebron-Harman Elementary School in Hanover on Sept. 15. U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives Christie Vilsack and Julie Paradis, farmers, and state, local, and school officials were on hand for special classroom educational activities and locally-grown lunch with elementary school students.To draw attention to the connection between healthy food and the local farms that grow it, Governor Martin O’Malley officially designated September 14-18, 2009 as Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week.
Nearly all 24 Maryland public school systems and many private schools featured local foods throughout the Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week. Click here for more details.
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 Know your Farmer, Know your Food
Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan launched an exiting new initiative called Know your Farmer, Know your Food to begin a national conversation to help develop local and regional food systems and spur economic opportunity. “An American people that is more engaged with their food supply will create new income opportunities for American agriculture,” said Vilsack. “Reconnecting consumers and institutions with local producers will stimulate economies in rural communities, improve access to healthy, nutritious food for our families, and decrease the amount of resources to transport our food..”
In the months to come, cross-cutting efforts at USDA will seek to use existing USDA programs to break down structural barriers that have inhibited local food systems from thriving. During the week of the announcement alone, USDA announced approximately $65 million in funding for ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiatives.
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What You Need to Know About H1N1 Influenza
MDA encourages all agricultural producers and their families to follow the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to protect themselves from illness in light of the H1N1 pandemic flu outbreak.
While swine are not impacted in the United States, MDA also reminds farmers, especially those producers with any pigs on their property, to heighten their on-farm biosecurity measures. Click here for the latest USDA research on H1N1.
It is also important to note that according to the CDC and the U.S. Department Homeland Security people cannot get H1N1 influenza from eating pork or pork products. Most influenza viruses, including this new flu virus, are not spread by food. H1N1 influenza is being tranferred from person to person.
Click here for more information.
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MDA Consolidates Animal Health Labs
On-going operating budget shortfalls (nearly $500,000 in 2009) along with a long-term services evaluation led MDA to consolidate the state’s Animal Health field and laboratory services. This month, MDA began closing the College Park, Centreville, and Oakland Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratories by shifting the work and staff to the remaining two state facilities. The Frederick facility will specialize in livestock diagnostics and the Salisbury facility will continue to focus on poultry work. Together, these two facilities will offer all of the livestock and poultry diagnostics previously available.
“While this transition has involved some very difficult decisions, we are confident that the result will be a laboratory system which is more robust and capable of providing world-class diagnostic services to our producers and their industries,” said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance. “At the same time, we will be in a better position to meet the regulatory, emergency response and animal health charges of the agency.”
Click here for more details.
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 Winner Is…Black Ankle Vineyards
MDA Secretary Buddy Hance presented Black Ankle Vineyards with the Governor’s Cup Trophy on Sept. 15 in Annapolis. Black Ankle Vineyards’ 2007 Crumbling Rock was named Maryland’s premier wine at the 20th Annual Maryland Governor’s Cup Competition. In addition to this “Best in Show” Bordeaux blend from Black Ankle, Elk Run Vineyards won the competitions’ first ever double gold for their 2007 Cold Friday Cabernet Sauvignon; and seven wines from around the state were named “Best in Class” in their respective categories.
There are currently 36 wineries licensed in Maryland. These wineries sold about 1.36 million bottles of wine in 2008, and annual sales in fiscal ’08 are estimated at $15 million. Visit marylandwine.com to learn more.
Photo: MDA Secretary Buddy Hance and Black Ankle Vineyards owner Sarah O’Herron with the Governor’s Cup trophy and the winning wine – Black Ankle Vineyards 2007 Crumbling Rock – in front of the Maryland State House.
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MDA Online Nutrient Trading Program Underway
MDA is developing a new tool to achieve Maryland’s water quality goals.. MDA will implement a nutrient trading program between point and non-point pollution sources in the Upper Chesapeake Bay through a $512,000 USDA grant. The nutrient trading program creates a public marketplace for the sale and purchase of nutrient credits (phosphorus and nitrogen). This exchange will help non-agricultural industries that have point source discharges to offset new or increased discharges. At the same time, participating farmers can benefit from economic incentives for expanding non-point source nutrient reductions.
To facilitate trading, a web based marketplace and trading registry are currently under development at mdnutrienttrading.org. When fully operational, the site will be used to record approved credits, facilitate transactions and provide a tracking method for the public. The new program, managed by MDA’s Susan Payne, is expected to be ready for business in the coming months. Click here for more details.
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 Governor Launches Green Registry
Governor O’Malley launched the Maryland Green Registry as part of the State’s Smart, Green and Growing initiative. The Registry is a new voluntary program to promote and recognize sustainable “greening” efforts by organizations of all types and sizes within the state.
Membership is free and encourages businesses, churches, schools, governments, and other organizations to share information on the practices they have in place to reduce the environmental impact of their facilities and services.
To become a member, Maryland organizations are encouraged to visit the Maryland Green Registry website and complete a best practices profile.
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| MDE Issues MAFO Permit Final Decision
Maryland’s proposed regulations for Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) became effective January 12, 2009, and the Maryland General Permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) and Maryland Animal Feeding Operations (MAFOs) will take effect on December 1, 2009. CAFOs were required by the regulations to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to comply with the permit by February 27, 2009. Any CAFOs that have not yet done so must submit a NOI and other required documents as soon as possible. MAFOs must submit a NOI and other required documents by March 1, 2010.
As background, the Maryland General Permit for AFOs was issued on January 2, 2009, however, its effective date was delayed due to a legal challenge. On May 5, 2009, the Maryland Office of Administrative Hearings issued a Tentative Decision upholding the permit against this legal challenge, and on September 2, 2009, MDE issued the Final Decision, holding that the permit conformed to federal and State law and was supported by evidence in the record. This issuance of a Final Decision allows MDE to issue the Maryland AFO (MAFO) permit and to place applicable facilities under the new requirements designed to protect the waters of the State. The permit takes effect December 1, 2009, unless the Final Decision is effectively appealed to the Circuit Court and the Court stays the decision pending the appeal..
Together, the regulations and permit are designed to control nutrients from Maryland’s largest agricultural animal operations and are a significant step forward in protecting the Chesapeake Bay, local waterways, and our drinking water. The AFO regulations and permit are just one part of a comprehensive, statewide effort to address all sources of pollution that are impairing our waterways: wastewater treatment plants, industrial discharges, septic systems, urban/suburban stormwater runoff and air emissions from power plants, cars and trucks. Click here for more details.
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 People Profile: Barbara Rater
When statistician Barbara Rater talks about her work she says she is happiest in the field talking with producers and hearing what they have to say. She uses words like service, fairness and relationships to describe her philosophy and it carries over to her staff. Barbara is the Maryland State Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, which is housed at MDA. In this role, she and a staff of 50 collect data from farmers and others in the agricultural sector and return it to them in the form of unbiased, accurate information and reports that can be used to help make informed policy and business decisions. In her position as state director, Barbara works hand-in-hand with federal and state government and other stakeholders in service to Maryland’s agricultural community.
She firmly believes that her job can’t be done from the desk. “I feel it is important that farmers know we have a genuine interest in and awareness of their work.” While each project has its rewards, Barbara says the greatest accomplishment during her three years as state director is overseeing the 2007 Census of Agriculture. “There is nothing else of this size and magnitude that we do.”
Barbara was raised in Southern Maryland and is a graduate of the University of Maryland. In the nearly 20 years she has spent with USDA-NASS, she has lived and worked in Phoenix, Arizona and Nashville, Tennessee and has held a number of positions at the Washington, DC headquarters. Her early headquarters assignments focused on managing national commodity programs such as tobacco, peanuts and rice. During her tenure with the agency’s international programs office, Barbara combined her knowledge of agricultural statistics with her Spanish language skills to lead statistics development projects in a number of countries, including Mexico, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Chile, and El Salvador. From 2003-2006, Barbara served as section chief of USDA-NASS’s Commodity Survey’s section where she was responsible for field operations for the agency’s national crop and livestock survey programs. She lives in Prince George’s County with her husband and son.
“Every day I feel blessed to be in a job that allows me to combine my knowledge of statistics and my passion for agriculture to serve farmers in my home State of Maryland.”
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 Featured Recipe: Apple Cobbler
Recipe provided by the Maryland Apple Promotion Board. Additional recipes available at: www.marylandapples.org
3 medium tart apples, pared, cored and sliced
1 1/4 cups flour divided
4 tbsp. packed brown sugar, divided
1/2 tsp.. ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
Place apples in 9″ round baking pan; sprinkle with 2
tbsp. flour, 3 tbsp. brown sugar and allspice.
Combine remaining dry ingredients. Combine milk,
butter and egg; add to flour mixture. Mix well. Drop
by spoonfuls onto fruit. Bake at 375 degrees for 35
to 40 minutes or until topping is golden brown.
Serves 6.
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 MDA Offices will be Closed Nov. 25
Reminder: All Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) offices will be closed on Wednesday, November 25 due to a mandatory service reduction day as part of the State budget reduction.
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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
Sue duPont, Communications Director, 410-841-5889,dupontsk@mda.state.md.us
Julie Oberg, Public Information Officer, 410-841-5888,obergja@mda.state.md.us |
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Enjoy Fresh, Juicy Apples Today!
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. Click here for delicious apple recipes.
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