{"id":8073,"date":"2014-01-09T14:58:16","date_gmt":"2014-01-09T19:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=8073"},"modified":"2014-01-09T15:00:04","modified_gmt":"2014-01-09T20:00:04","slug":"agricultural-highlights-january-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2014\/01\/09\/agricultural-highlights-january-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Agricultural Highlights – January 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RonaMastHead\"<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

JANUARY 2014<\/b><\/p>\n

SSCC Meeting Set For January 16<\/b><\/p>\n

The State Soil Conservation Committee will hold its next meeting on Thursday, January 16, at 2 p.m. in the House Office Building, Room 431 (Eastern Shore Delegation Room), Annapolis, Maryland. The meeting is open to the public and will focus on soil conservation and water quality program implementation and policy development. Established in 1938, the State Soil Conservation Committee coordinates the activities of Maryland’s 24 soil conservation districts, while advising the Secretary of Agriculture on matters relating to soil and water conservation. For more information, contact Louise Lawrence, executive secretary, 410.841.5863.<\/p>\n

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MDA Reminds Citizens Not to Use Fertilizer as a De-Icer<\/b><\/p>\n

With winter in full gear, the Maryland Department of Agriculture reminds citizens that Maryland\u2019s Lawn Fertilizer Law prohibits the use of fertilizer products as a de-icer on frozen surfaces. When temperatures rise and the rains return, fertilizer can easily wash into nearby storm drains and streams that empty into the Chesapeake Bay. Once in our waterways, excess fertilizer contributes to the growth of algae blooms that block sunlight from reaching Bay grasses, rob the water of oxygen and threaten underwater life.\u00a0 University of Maryland recommends sand and kitty litter as possible substitutes.\u00a0 For more information, visit http:\/\/extension.umd.edu\/hgic<\/a> and search for Fact Sheet 707, titled Melting Ice Safely. <\/i><\/p>\n

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Professional Fertilizer Applicator Certification Exam and Training Offered <\/b><\/p>\n

Lawn care professionals seeking certification by the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) to apply fertilizer to turf may register for one of the following certification classes:\u00a0 January 29, February 25 and February 27, 2014 in Annapolis; January 30 and February 28, 2014 in Salisbury; and January 31 and February 27, 2014 in Centerville.\u00a0 Optional training sessions are offered from 9 a.m. to 11:30 am the day of the exam. Lawn care professionals hired to apply fertilizers to turfgrass must be certified by MDA\u2019s Nutrient Management Program or work under the direct supervision of an individual who is certified. The requirement is a major component of Maryland\u2019s new Lawn Fertilizer Law which took effect October 1, 2013. \u00a0To register for MDA\u2019s Professional Fertilizer Applicator Certification Exam, visit www.mda.maryland.gov\/fertilizer<\/a>. To help professionals prepare for the exam, a training manual and review questions are posted on the website.<\/p>\n

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2013 Nutrient Management Annual Report Published <\/b><\/p>\n

The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has published its 2013 annual report for the Maryland Nutrient Management Program. The report highlights agriculture\u2019s activities and accomplishments in helping Maryland implement its Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay. The report is available on-line at www.mda.maryland.gov<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Taste of Maryland Agriculture Event Set for February 6<\/b><\/p>\n

The Maryland Agriculture Council will host its annual Taste of Maryland Agriculture Dinner<\/i> Thursday, February 6, 2014 at Michael\u2019s Eighth Avenue, 7220 Grayburn Drive in Glen Burnie, Maryland. The event features a bounty of Maryland agricultural products that will be served throughout the evening and is designed to educate lawmakers about the importance of agriculture to all Maryland citizens. Inductees to the Governor\u2019s Agriculture Hall of Fame will be honored during the evening along with the presentation of Maryland Agriculture Council grants.\u00a0 Call Gail Yeiser at 301.405.2434 for reservation information. For more information on the Council or event, call Susan Summers at 301.865.1045. Additional information and reservation forms can be found at www.mdagcouncil.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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T<\/i>he Maryland Agricultural Awareness Alliance, a coalition of federal, state and local agricultural \u00a0agencies and commodity groups dedicated to educating Marylanders on agricultural issues.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

JANUARY 2014 SSCC Meeting Set For January 16 The State Soil Conservation Committee will hold its next meeting on Thursday, January 16, at 2 p.m. in the House Office Building, Room 431 (Eastern Shore Delegation Room), Annapolis, Maryland. The meeting is open to the public and will focus on soil conservation and water quality program  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8073"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8076,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8073\/revisions\/8076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}