{"id":1799,"date":"2009-06-26T13:24:45","date_gmt":"2009-06-26T13:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=1799"},"modified":"2012-10-03T13:26:05","modified_gmt":"2012-10-03T13:26:05","slug":"june-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/mda-newsletter\/2009\/06\/26\/june-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"June 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"MarylandMaryland Department of Agriculture\u00a0News<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 Celebrating Maryland\u00a0Agriculture<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nJune 2009\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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In This Issue<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
New Milestones for Bay Cleanup<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Buy Local Week<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ACReS Now Available<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Homegrown School Lunch Week<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Veterinarian’s License Revoked<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Envirothon 2009<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
People Profile: Tom Hartsock<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Featured Recipe: Ice Cream<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u00a0Secretary’s Corner<\/div>\n

\"Earl<\/p>\n

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\u00a0My first month as Secretary began\u00a0with a flurry\u00a0of activity. For starters, the Chesapeake Bay Executive Council<\/a> met at Mount Vernon. At that meeting\u00a0U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson presented an\u00a0Executive\u00a0Order<\/a> from President Barack Obama that elevated the federal government’s commitment to restoring the\u00a0Chesapeake Bay. At the same meeting, Governor O’Malley announced\u00a0two-year milestones\u00a0to\u00a0accelerate
\nBay restoration. Brand new Census of Agriculture<\/a> data being made available by watershed for the first time by the National Agricultural Statistics Service will be a strong tool to inform\u00a0our BayStat and farm conservation programs.<\/div>\n
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With early fruits and vegetables going to market now, we are busily helping\u00a0our family farms and businesses\u00a0reach new\u00a0sales opportunities\u00a0here and around the world. New contracts have been made between Maryland food companies and\u00a0buyers in Korea and European nations. Our “Buy Local” efforts are ratcheting up for the season with Maryland’s Best<\/a> promotions for CSA farms, strawberries, farmers’ markets, wine, and dairy products.<\/div>\n
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Governor O’Malley is hosting the second annual Buy Local Cook Out<\/a> to kick off\u00a0the Buy Local Challenge Week. Recipes from producer-chef partnerships will feature local dishes at the event. Farmers’ Market Week follows this in August and then comes Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week in September. The Farm to School program<\/a> is a real success story that will grow even stronger as more schools get involved and educational elements are incorporated into school activities.<\/div>\n
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In addition to these efforts, the federal government is making available a wide range of important funding for farmers and rural communities including the Value-Added Producer Grants<\/a>, Organic Cost Share funds<\/a>, and the CREP program<\/a>.<\/div>\n
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Maryland Department of Agriculture accomplishments and activities, including many I’ve just mentioned are included in our recently released 2008 Annual Report<\/a>. None of these activities could happen without the hard work and flexibility of Maryland farmers growing some of the best crops available anywhere and MDA staff who provide services and assistance to growers and others that the agency serves. Together,\u00a0our efforts are making Maryland agriculture and the\u00a0State as a whole a smarter, greener and growing place for all to prosper.<\/div>\n

Thank you and I wish you all the best for a\u00a0successful and productive growing season.<\/p>\n

Buddy Hance<\/a>
\nMDA Secretary<\/a><\/p>\n

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Quick Links<\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n
More About MDA <\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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BayStat <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Sign Up for Governor O’Malley’s E-Newsletter<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\"two Governor O’Malley Announces 2-Year Milestones for Bay Restoration<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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On May 12, Governor Martin O’Malley announced ambitious two-year milestones<\/span><\/span><\/a> to accelerate Maryland’s efforts to reach its current nutrient reduction goals by 2020.\u00a0These milestones include plans to double the state’s Cover Crop program and expanding efforts to establish forested buffers and wetlands, primarily through the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).<\/p>\n

The Cover Crop Program controls soil erosion and reduces nutrient runoff. It is one of the most cost effective and sustainable ways to protect soil and water quality over the winter months. This year $12 million in cover crop funding is available, which means that farmers can plant nearly 290,000 acres in protective cover crops following the fall harvest. For more information on the Cover Crop program click here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Local soil conservation districts statewide are now accepting applications for the newly revitalized Maryland CREP. Farmers interested in earning extra farm income by taking environmentally-sensitive cropland out of production for 10 to 15 years and planting streamside buffers, protecting highly erodible land or establishing wetlands to safeguard local streams should call or visit their local soil conservation district to take advantage of this popular program. For more information about CREP, what it can do for farmers, and how to sign up click here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Buy Buy Local Week <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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This year, Buy Local Week will take place from July 18-26. During this week, Marylanders are asked to eat at least one locally grown product each day. Governor Martin O’Malley will kick off the challenge with a cook out<\/a> at Government House on July 16. The hope is that as people become more familiar with eating food in season, they will look for and buy local products all year long.<\/p>\n

Farmers now get less than 10 cents of the retail food dollar. Buying local food helps local farmers take home more of the dollars we spend on food and promotes healthy eating habits, fresh food, local families, local economies, and is safer because you know where it is coming from.<\/p>\n

The Maryland’s Best<\/a> and the Buy-Local-Challenge website<\/a> have plenty of recipes from local chefs that will make you love your local produce even more and if you want to eat local all year round, including a chart<\/a> of what is in season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Maryland Agricultural Conflict Resolution Service Available<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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Maryland ACReS, the Maryland Agricultural Conflict Resolution Service, is up and running with a new program administrator, Mae Johnson. ACReS is a proven confidential mediation service meant to be a less expensive and stressful alternative to court for the agricultural community. The program is free or low cost for both parties (with both parties sharing the cost, if any).<\/p>\n

ACReS promotes conversation and a non-adversarial process to resolving farm-related disputes. Participants come up with the solution, not the mediator, and the goal is to develop mutually acceptable options. In 2006, a law passed in Maryland requiring that mediation must be given a chance<\/a> before action is taken against an agricultural operation in court. If a solution is not reached through mediation, then litigation is still an option. For more information read the Maryland ACReS fact sheet<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Farm Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week Ready to Grow <\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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Maryland Homegrown Lunch Week will take place this year from September 14-18. The Farm to School program encourages schools to serve local produce from local farms and to educate students on the benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables. Through the program, children and their teachers learn how to eat healthfully and deliciously and how to make wise decisions when choosing a meal. Nutritionists have found that kids like food that tastes good and the Farm to School program teaches kids that fresh, healthy food does taste good. In the long term, kids who learn to eat well early in their lives will be healthier adults and will understand the connection between the farms they see around them and their food.<\/p>\n

In the first year of the Maryland Farm to School program, almost every school system participated in the effort to include locally grown food into school lunch and curriculum.\u00a0 The schools bought products from 30 different Maryland farms. This year, the program is on target to grow, introducing even more students and educators to the delicious taste of local produce as well as its nutritional, environmental, and economic value.<\/p>\n

Nationally, Farm to School is active in 400 school districts throughout 23 states. This program creates additional income for farmers and supports the local economy. For more information, visit the Farm to School Web site<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Veterinarian’s License Revoked<\/span><\/span><\/span>
\nOn May 8, the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners announced that it had revoked the veterinary license of Dr. Gary W. Dehne. Dr. Dehne, who practiced primarily via home visits rather than in an office or clinic in the Chevy Chase\/Bethesda area of Montgomery County, had his veterinarian’s license revoked due to a series of disciplinary actions going back to 2000. His violations include unprofessional conduct, providing substandard care, neglecting patients, and failure to comply with record-keeping requirements for companion animals.\u00a0 For more information about Dr. Dehne’s revocation, click here<\/a>.<\/span><\/span>The SBVME regulates veterinary medicine in the state of Maryland. For more information about the board or to file a complaint please call 410-841-5862 or visit www.mda.state.md.us\/animal_health\/vetboard<\/a>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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\"Students Envirothon 2009<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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At Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD from June 16-18 high school students will compete using their agricultural knowledge and problem-solving skills to solve environmental challenges. The winner will go on to represent Maryland and compete against 300 plus other teenagers from the US and Canada at the Canon Envirothon at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.<\/p>\n

Students have trained throughout the past year by categorizing living resources, performing soil surveys, and estimating wood yield. They worked with soil scientists, wildlife specialists, foresters, and environmental engineers from both state and federal agencies and also from private organizations.<\/p>\n

The focus of the event this year is “biodiversity in a changing environment.” For more information on the Maryland and North Carolina competitions, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Picture: Students participating in the 2008 state Envirothon finals.<\/span><\/div>\n

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\"TomPeople Profile: Tom Hartsock<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
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Tom Hartsock, the new Chair for the Maryland Agricultural Commission, has a lifetime of experiences with agriculture.\u00a0 He grew up on a dairy farm in central Pennsylvania where he was involved in 4-H.\u00a0 Throughout his college years, Hartsock focused his studies on swine and researched ways to adapt swine facilities to natural behaviors in order to assist pork producers in overall management.\u00a0\u00a0 He received a Ph. D. in Animal Nutrition from Pennsylvania State University where he wrote his dissertation on the “Behavior and Nutrition of Newborn Domestic Swine.”\u00a0 He is a recently retired professor at the University of Maryland where he taught a variety of courses, although in his last years he mostly specialized in teaching livestock management of beef, sheep, goats and swine.\u00a0 While there, he also served as Director of the Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA).<\/p>\n

As Chairman, Hartsock hopes to help the citizens of Maryland understand full breadth of the term “agriculture.”\u00a0\u00a0 He wants to instill the idea that agriculture is a part of daily life and encompasses more than just swine and soybeans.\u00a0 He wants to reinforce that many other fields such as forestry and wildlife are also included in the umbrella term “agriculture.”<\/p>\n

Another goal Hartsock has is to help secure the future of agriculture in Maryland.\u00a0\u00a0 He believes one way to do this is to increase profitability of agriculture, which will ensure that people who have an interest in an agricultural profession are able to make a profitable living and follow through with these dreams.\u00a0 He also hopes to minimize the development of farmland, an unfortunate trend that results from an expanding population and high land prices.<\/p>\n

Hartsock has an abundance of experiences that equip him for his new position.\u00a0 On a personal level, Tom owns and operates Porky Pines Farm in Clarksburg, Maryland, which currently produces hay that he sells and feeds his horses.\u00a0 Hartsock serves on the Maryland Pork Producers Association Board of Directors, the Montgomery County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and served on the Maryland Organic Certification Advisory Committee.<\/p>\n

Hartsock is a father of two, a grandfather of three and a Modern Western Square Dancer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Strawberry Homemade Ice Cream<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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Upcoming Events<\/strong><\/span><\/span>
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