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.

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

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.

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.

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.)

Carol Holko,

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.