BEGINNING FARMER SUCCESS
Meet a Partner—SMADC
hile the Southern
Maryland Agricultural
Development
Commission (SMADC) focuses
their efforts on the five Southern Maryland Counties; many of
the initiatives of SMADC reach
beyond these borders of Southern Maryland.
“SMADC provides vision, support and research in terms of
education, grants, marketing
and promotion as it incubates
new farm and food industries.
As new farm economies are being formed, SMADC helps to
streamline regulations and reduce obstacles. With Maryland
FarmLINK, SMADC is building an
on-line farming community to
share ideas, announce training
opportunities,
provide
resources, and be a source for
selling, leasing, and or farming
land in the state.”
Maryland FarmLINK provides
agriculture communities with
access to available farmland,
equipment, events and educational resources. Users can log
into the site for free which allows them to view more detailed information about listed
properties and equipment. Users are also added to a listserv
which sends a weekly update
about events and news. The site
also offers Realtor resources
which will help educate Realtors
about providing assistance to
those wanting to sell, lease, or
buy farmland. One of the most
exciting components of the site
is the Mentor Match Program.
Read more about the Mentor
Match Program on the next
page.
2/18 - Crop Operations Using Manure & Fertilizer
Class
2/18 - Basic Irrigation Management Class
2/18 - Backyard Greenhouse
Class
2/19 - Women In Ag Pre Conferences
2/19 - Soil Fertility & Conservation on the Small
Farm
2/20 - MidAtlantic Women
In Agriculture Conference
2/22 - Mt Top Fruit & Vegetable Conference
2/24—Farming: Pencil to
Plow Course
2/27—GAP Food Safety
Training
3/3—GAP Food Safety
Training
3/11—GAP Food Safety
Training
Extension.umd.edu/newfarmer
February 2014 Volume 1, Issue 4
January/February
Events—click events
for more information
More events can be found
on our site under “events”
Photo: courtesy of Southern Maryland Agriculture Development Commission
Find A Mentor. Be A Mentor.
I Have . . .
Access to Land
Determined Enterprise
Found a Mentor
Use Maryland FarmLINK to find
a mentor today!
Following advice from a successful and experienced farmer
can provide a smoother and more fulfilling entrance into
farming for profit for a beginning farmer. Maryland FarmLINK aims to pair mentors and mentees through their
Mentor Match Program. Potential mentors and mentees
should first familiarize themselves with the eligibility requirements which are listed on the Maryland FarmLINK
site. Applications for both mentors and mentees are evaluated based on area of interest, experience level, land availability, and future goals, to name a few. There is no charge to
apply and no charge to selected mentees. The mentors are
paid a $750 stipend through funding provided by Maryland
Beginning Farmer Success to support their mentoring obligation to their mentee. Click here to learn more.
Mentee Application
Mentor Application
Farmer Spotlight
Keyes Creamery is a dairy farm
business in Havre de Grace,
Maryland. The Keyes family raises 200 Holstein cows, heifers
and claves and uses the milk
that is collected during the grazing season to produce cheese
and ice cream. Their premium
ice cream can be found in several flavors ranging from traditional classics like Vanilla to
trendy flavors like Cappuccino
Crunch. Keyes Creamery products can be found at local farmers markets. Find out more
about Keyes Creamery:
Interview with Megan Keyes from Keyes
Creamery, a local Dairy Farm Business.
Click below to view the video.
Keyes Creamery Website
Click to view more videos
Up Coming Beginning Farmer Programs
t may not feel like it, but Spring will eventually be upon Maryland in the next month or two. Be prepared by participating in an upcoming University of Maryland Beginning Farmer Training Event.
Click the titles to learn more.
Basic Irrigation Management for Those New to
Irrigation
February 18th 9:00—11:30 a.m.
Rockawalkin Community Hall
6772 Rockawalkin Rd, Hebron, MD 21830
Farming: Pencil To Plow
February 24th 6:00—9:00 p.m.
Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce
144 E Main St
Salisbury, MD 21803
Learn about irrigation methods, soil evaluation for Business planning, market research, government
irrigation, water sources, irrigation timeframes and regulations, budgeting, cash flow projections, and
reviewing income statements and balance sheets.
strategies, and considerations for fertigation.
Starting a Second Career in Local Food – Com- Beginning A Successful Small Farm
mercial Food Production and Marketing for the April 3—May 15 7:00—9:00 p.m.
New Farmer on Small Acreage
Frederick County Extension Office
330 Montevue Lane
January 21—April 1 6:00—8:45 p.m.
Frederick, MD 21702
Montgomery County Extension Office
Agricultural History Farm Park
Derwood, MD 20855
Learn about marketing, small ruminant production, soils, crop planting, season extension, business planning, pest management, irrigation, equipment and plasticulture.
Topics include finding a farm enterprise, soil fertility, pasture systems, weeds in pastures, cover
crops, and adding animals into your farm.
Click here to receive this newsletter every month
To submit information for the monthly newsletter please contact the Beginning Farmer
Success Project Coordinator, Andrea Rice at amrice@umd.edu
Andrea Rice
amrice@umd.edu
301.868.9410
“This project was supported by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, USDA, Grant #2012-49400-19552. To find more
resources and programs for beginning farmers and ranchers
please visit www.Start2Farm.gov, a component of the Beginning
Farmer and Rancher Development Program.”
The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual
orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity
or expression.