Hello, Harford County!
University of
Maryland Extension
It seems that winter has arrived fast and
early this year. The unseasonably cold
weather during mid-November graced my
homestead with an inch of snow and a frozen
-solid pond. My husband and I are working (in
the few daylight hours we have) to prepare
for another frigid, snowy winter. If you keep
livestock, you’ve probably noticed them
Extension.umd.edu/harford-county
preparing for winter as well by growing out
facebook.com/HarfordAg
their long heavy coats and racking up the
feed bill.
Sara BhaduriHauck
Most of us have the luxury of living in a
Ag Extension Educator
climate-controlled house where our
sbh@umd.edu
heating system maintains a constant
inside temperature. Those of us in charge
of household bill pay recognize that our
heating bills increase when the outside
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
temperature decreases; it takes more
energy to keep the inside temperature
Women in Ag “Supper
2
constant when the outside temperature
Seminars”
drops. Animal bodies work the same
way. Livestock are able to maintain their
To Blanket or Not to
4
body temperature even in cold weather,
Blanket?
but it comes at the cost of increased
energy.
Animals get their energy from food,
Fall Nutrient
5
so the colder it is, the more feed you
Management Planning
need to provide. It’s preferable to
provide additional forage, rather than
Do Farmers Pay Tax
6
additional concentrate, as forages cause
on CRP Payments?
release of more heat during the
digestive process. Just as important as
feed, however, is water. Livestock must
Don’t Wash Your
8
have
access to clean, unfrozen water at
Chicken!
Harford County Office
P.O. Box 663
2335 Rock Spring Road
Forest Hill, MD 21050
(410) 638-3255
M—F 8:00 a.m—4:30 p.m.
Home and Garden
Phone Service
Cancelled
9
The Extension Office will be closed on
December 25 in observance of Christmas
and January 1 to celebrate the new year.
all times. Although animals may be less
inclined to drink when the weather (and the
water) is very cold, their water
requirements are still quite high: 3 gallons
per day for sheep and 14 gallons per day for
cattle.
Water is essential for almost all bodily
processes, especially digestion. Water
contributes to the formation of saliva (4
gallons per day in horses), which regulates
stomach pH. Water helps digesta move
freely though the tract, preventing
impactions and colic. It is an important
ingredient in the fermentation process, and
it’s required to excrete waste products out
of the body. Thus, increased feed intake
should also equate to increased water
intake.
Animals can take in water by eating
snow or licking ice, but this will not meet
the animal’s daily water requirement and
will further lower body temperature. When
temperatures are below freezing, use tank
heaters to keep water from freezing. (Check
that tank heaters are working properly as a
stray electric current running through the
water can reduce intake.) If tank heaters
aren’t an option for you, provide fresh,
unfrozen water to livestock multiple times
per day.
Continued on next page...
Insulating your waterers can help to prevent freezing.
Place waterers out of direct wind. If you use automatic
waterers, caulk the base and seal the access door with
waterproof tape. You may also consider applying
external insulation over the waterer.
When the weather turns cold, we head inside to
stand by the fire or put on an extra sweater. Livestock,
on the other hand, just eat more. (Wouldn’t it be fun if
we could stay warm just by eating more?) Providing
additional feed is important, but if you want
your animals to consume that feed you need to ensure
that they’re consuming adequate water, too. One final
tip: animals usually prefer to drink water that is
between 40 and 65 degrees F, so use a thermometer
to check the temperature of the water and set the
heater accordingly if you can.
Sincerely,
2015 Harford Women in Ag “Supper Seminars”
After offering the Annie’s Project and Managing For
Today and Tomorrow classes in Harford County for the
past three years, we are switching gears for 2015
season to a more flexible format. Sara BhaduriHauck
and Nicole Fiorellino will host a series of Supper
Seminars for women in agriculture on Wednesdays this
winter. Each seminar will begin at 6:00pm with a hot
meal, followed by a guest speaker, and concluding
with a round table discussion that will wrap up at
8:30pm. All sessions will be held at the Harford County
Extension Office in Forest Hill. Register for all or just
for the sessions that interest you! Registration is open
to all women with a passion for agriculture, but each
session is limited to the first 20 participants. The
registration fee of $10 includes dinner. Register by
calling 410-638-3255 at least a week in advance of
each session. For questions, contact Sara at
sbh@umd.edu.
February 4, 2015 – “Speaking to the Public on ‘Hot Topics’ in Ag”
Jennie Schmidt, MS, Registered Dietician, and farmer (thefoodiefarmer.blogspot.com): Public perception of
agriculture is shaping consumer preference and spending and even legislation. When customers ask you about
hot topics like GMOs, organic versus conventional, or pollution from farms, how will you respond? Jennie will
prepare you with the tools to effectively and professionally communicate with and relate to customers searching
for answers.
March 4, 2015 – “Legal Documents Every Farmer Should Have”
Rajiv Goel, Esquire, Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law: Farm businesses are built from a foundation of hard work and
dedication, and farmers should protect what they’ve established by having certain legal documents on file. If you
were injured or killed unexpectedly, what would happen to your business, your land, and your children? Raj will
explain what legal documents every farmer should have and will help you make decisions and gather information
you will need before you visit with your lawyer. Come ready with your questions! Catering will be provided by
Broom’s Bloom.
March 25, 2015 – “Tools for Family Communication that Actually Works”
Jim Kilgalen, Director and Senior Clinician, Kilgalen and Associates: Farming families face unique challenges when
it comes to communication: speaking freely about business issues is difficult when your boss is your parent or
your hired help is your child. Do you have thoughts about the farm that you keep to yourself because you’re
afraid how your family will react? Jim will dissect the complex relationship of the farm family and provide you
with practical strategies to successfully discuss business while preserving the family dynamic.
April 22 , 2015 – “Farming Liability and YOU”
Ashley Newhall, Agriculture Legal Specialist, University of Maryland Extension: Farmers face liability risk at every
step along the production and marketing cycle; being educated about these risks is the first step toward reducing
them. If your produce makes someone sick, if a car traveling down your road hits an escaped cow, or if your
neighbor reports pesticides from your farm killed her flowers – are you protected? Ashley will discuss some
common areas of liability on the farm and steps you can take to reduce your risk of liability. Catering will be
provided by the Laurrapin Grille.
UMD Program Shares National Award for Work in Afghanistan
By Sara Gavin, Communications Coordinator, UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources
Faculty members from the College of Agriculture
and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland
were part of a team honored in November with a
prestigious award from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) for their involvement in a project
aimed at improving the lives of women in Afghanistan.
James Hanson, Ph.D., an Extension specialist and
professor in the Department of Agriculture and
Resource Economics, leads the University of
Maryland’s Women in Agriculture (WIA) program. The
WIA project prepares female extension educators and
leaders in Afghanistan to empower poor or vulnerable
women living in Kabul by teaching them how to
provide food for their own families. It focuses on
developing skills and practices like vegetable
gardening,
small-scale
poultry
production,
composting to improve soil quality, postharvest
handling, food preservation, preparation of nutritious
meals, and marketing agricultural products; all to
increase food security for women living in some of
the poorest areas of this war-torn country. WIA is
part of the Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Project,
a collaborative effort with three other land-grant
universities led by the University of California, Davis
to assist Afghanistan in strengthening its agricultural
extension system and stabilizing its agriculture-based
economy.
Hanson, along with Rebecca Ramsing, food
security and nutrition advisor for WIA, and Sophia
Wilcox, Deputy Chief of Party for the WIA project,
were all named in the group of recipients for the
2014 USDA Secretary’s Honor Award in the
category of increasing global food security.
Hanson, Ramsing, and Wilcox joined their
counterparts from the other three universities to
be recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.,
on November 6.
“These awards are the most prestigious
Departmental awards presented by the Secretary
of Agriculture and recognize exceptional
leadership, contributions, or public service by
individuals or groups who support the mission and
goals of USDA,” said Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food
and Agriculture (NIFA).
Annie’s Project 2015 Classes Announced
Annie’s Project focuses on the many aspects of farm management and is designed to empower women in
overall farm decision making and to build local networks throughout the state. The target audience is women
with a passion for business, agriculture and involvement in the farm operation. Topics for the sessions cover
the five areas of risk management – production, marketing, financial, legal risk, and human resources. This
course is open to anyone interested in farm management practices. In 2015, Annie’s Project will be held in
Baltimore, Cecil, and several other counties in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The cost of the course
including meals and materials is $75. For more information, class sites or to register visit the webpage at
www.extension.umd.edu/annies-project or call 410-758-0166. Please register by January as space is limited.
Save the Date: MD Small Ruminant Expo
The Maryland Small Ruminant Expo will be held Saturday,
February 28, 2015, at the Frederick County 4-H Camp and
Activities Center in Frederick, Maryland. More details will be
published in this newsletter as they become available.
To Blanket or Not to Blanket?
By Dr. Luke Bass, DVM, MS, Colorado State University
The chilly months from late fall to early spring are
generally a time of slowed activity for horse and rider,
but attentiveness to horse health and management is
just as crucial during the cold season. As an equine
veterinarian, I’m often asked about blanketing during
the cold months.
Primary considerations in horse blanketing are hair
coat and environmental temperature. Here is some
information that will assist you in making the right
blanketing decision for your horse.
First, it’s useful to know that horses have an innate
ability to withstand cold and wind, with the important
caveat that they need shelter or a windbreak, as well as
proper cold-season feed and nutrition.
Blankets tend to compress a coat's layers, which
compromises their insulating properties. Horses that
do not live in extremely cold environments – meaning
routinely colder than 10°F – will do well without a
blanket, provided they are either stalled during the
coldest temperatures or have access to a protective
shelter.
Feed and nutrition are also factors tied to
blanketing, because a horse generates body heat
through digestive activity. To help your horse live
comfortably in cold weather, make sure calories are
adequate; most important, provide sufficient forage,
typically in the form of hay. As the horse digests
forage, gut activity warms the body. This function,
along with the natural insulating abilities of the winter
coat, allows your horse to live comfortably in an
environment that is not excessively cold, assuming
shelter is available.
The decision to blanket your horse comes with pros
and cons. A positive aspect of blanketing is that it helps
maintain a short-haired show coat, thus decreasing
your body clipping time if you are showing during the
colder months. Performance horses may need clipping
and blanketing to control winter hair growth, so they
can exercise without getting too sweaty and so that
sweat dries easily. Consider a partial rather than a full
clip for the benefits of easily cleaned sweaty areas and
heavy hair coat in other areas.
Blankets also are used in icy and snowy weather to
keep your outside horse clean and dry, ready for you to
ride. For horses living in very cold places – again, places
where the temperature is often colder than 10°F –
blankets can provide the added warmth needed,
especially when protective shelter is not available.
Additionally, when a horse is moved from a warm
climate to a much cooler climate, a blanket can help
the horse become acclimated to the new environment.
Here are a few blanketing tips to follow:
 Only apply blankets to clean, dry horses.
 Use the appropriate blanket for the
appropriate use. A turnout blanket is for use
during turnout and is designed to be
waterproof. Horses that live in the elements
wearing blankets should wear waterproof
and breathable blankets. A blanket that is not
waterproof will quickly become saturated,
making your horse cold – the opposite of
the desired effect with blanket use.
 If you have decided to blanket, use the
blanket weight that is most appropriate for
your horse's needs and the weather
conditions. If it's 40 degrees, your horse
probably only needs a lightweight blanket. If
it's 10 degrees below zero, he might prefer a
heavyweight blanket.
 Sweating in a blanket on a hot day can be
just as problematic as wearing a nonwaterproof blanket in wet weather.
 Remove your horse's blanket and groom on
a regular basis.
Properly cleaning blankets is recommended for
longevity of the product, but remember that most are
line-dried, so either purchase a quick-drying blanket
or have a backup. When cleaning or rinsing your
blanket, check all the fasteners and attachments to
make sure they are secured tightly to the blanket. A
blanket that slips can cause your horse to spook, and
may lead to injury.
Unless you are showing your horse, blanketing
is a personal decision. The blanket will give your horse
added warmth, but in return will decrease your
horse's natural winter hair growth.
Fall Nutrient Management Planning
By Patricia Hoopes, Harford County Nutrient Management Advisor
Fall harvest seems to be quickly passing and
cover crops are growing despite Maryland’s quirky
weather. A few folks have been able to get their soil
sampling done and are requesting spring 2015
Nutrient Management Plans; most require more
time.
For me, receiving soil sample analysis is exciting.
I always want to guess what the results will be for
my fields, and there is almost always a surprise. This
year the surprise was a field that hasn’t been limed
for six years still doesn’t need any lime! Perhaps this
is because we haven’t been fertilizing or perhaps soil
sampling techniques were not adequate. I am not
concerned enough to take another sample right
away, but I will not wait three years before resampling. Taking samples early allows you the
opportunity to question the lab and/or retake
samples before proceeding with a formal Nutrient
Management Plan based on a questionable analysis.
Thanksgiving is a good timeline marker for a due
date to have soil and manure sampling completed.
Soil sampling is quicker, easier, and more reliable in
soil that is not frozen. Manure is just horrible to
sample when frozen. Last year we had some very
questionable results especially with the frozen liquid
manure. So sampling now is far better than sampling
in the winter. All Nutrient Management Advisors
welcome clients that come in early for planning to
ensure they will have their recommendations before
spring planting time.
Another reason to soil sample early is that fields
with soils high in phosphorus will need PSI
(Phosphorus Site Index) and UM-PMT (UMPhosphorus Management Tool) evaluations
completed prior to Nutrient Management Planning
involving applying any phosphorus-containing
products, including manures. These field studies are
generally done in between crops when the field is
bare. So, even though it is getting cold outside, this
is a perfect time to do these studies.
Don’t forget that fields high in phosphorus will
also require an additional lab test. The operator will
need to request the Degree Phosphorus Saturation
(DPS) or Al (aluminum) and Fe (iron) reported as
part of the lab analysis. This is a separate test which
must be requested when filling out the soil sample
submittal form and may involve an additional
charge. Each lab handles the charges for this
additional testing differently and may call it by a
different name. Our newest “Comparison of Soil Test
Labs” clearly details how to order this test and the
charges involved. This list of labs is available at the
office and also online. (To have a direct link e-mailed
to you, call our office.)
As you collect the needed information to update
your Nutrient Management Plan, call your advisor
and arrange a meeting to be sure you have your
plan in hand before spring. If you have questions
concerning Nutrient Management Planning, call
Tricia Hoopes at 410-638-3255.
Phosphorus Management Tool Impact Study Released
Source: Maryland Department of Agriculture press release (abridged)
The Economic Impact Study on the Phosphorus Management Tool (PMT) was released on November 7. The
Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) commissioned the study to better understand the economic
impacts the PMT will have on farmers and on Maryland’s economy. MDA provided a copy of the report to the
General Assembly’s House and Senate Budget Committees; the Senate Education, Health, Environmental Affairs
Committee; as well as the House Environmental Matters Committee for review and a 45-day comment period.
The study assessed all available economic and financial data and information related to the proposed PMT
implementation, including the potential costs, potential benefits, and other related decision-points, from the
perspective of all interested stakeholders. While there is no one single figure representing the economic impact,
the study considers specific variables and various levels resulting in a range of both costs and benefits. MDA has
set up an email address (PMTinfo.mda@maryland.gov) for anyone who has questions about the report. The
report is available online at www.mda.maryland.gov/documents/pmt-analysis.pdf. A “Frequently Asked
Questions” document is also available online at www.mda.maryland.gov/documents/pmtfaqs.pdf.
Do Non-Farmers Pay Self-Employment Taxes on CRP Payments?
By Paul Goeringer, Agriculture Law Specialist, University of MD Extension
Reprinted from the Maryland Risk Management Blog
Maryland currently has over 65,000 acres enrolled in
the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal
land conservation program managed by Farm Service
Agency. Landowners enroll environmentally-sensitive
land and remove the land from agricultural production
in exchange for a yearly rental payment. The issue has
been how to treat that yearly rental payment from
CRP on tax returns as either self-employment tax or
not.
Prior to 2003, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
took the position that CRP rental payments paid to a
person who did not materially participate in the farm
would not be subject to self-employment tax. If you
did materially participate, then the rental payment
would be subject to self-employment tax. Recently,
IRS had taken the opinion in a proposed rule (never
finalized) that all CRP rental payments regardless of
material participation should be considered subject to
self-employment tax.
IRS’s view was recently rejected by a federal court
of appeals. In Morehouse v. Commissioner of Internal
Revenue, the 8th Court of Appeals found that CRP
rental payments made to non-farmers should not be
subject to self-employment tax. In Morehouse, the
plaintiff was not an agricultural producer and had
inherited some farmland in South Dakota. Morehouse
decided to enroll much of this farmland in the CRP
program. The issue came in 2006 and 2007 when
Morehouse filed and did not report the CRP rental
payments as self-employment income, and IRS began
to
send
Morehouse
notices
of
delinquency. Morehouse brought an action to review
the IRS’s determination with the Tax Court and the Tax
Court agreed with IRS. Morehouse appealed to the
8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 8th Circuit disagreed with the IRS, finding that
IRS had a long history of viewing similar conservation
program payments made to non-participating
landowners as not taxable as self-employment
income.
The court embraced this longstanding
tradition, finding that Morehouse would not be
subject to self-employment tax on CRP rental
payments.
The 8th Circuit Court also distinguished this case
from a prior decision from the 6th Circuit. In that prior
decision, the 6th Circuit found that an active
Photo: Marion Soil and Water Conservation District
agricultural producer with land enrolled in CRP
would be subject to self-employment taxes on the CRP
rental payments, based on the reasoning that the CRP
contract required producers to complete activities
similar to their active farming operations. The 8th
Circuit found extending this reasoning to nonagricultural producers problematic.
So why is this ruling important? Although the
ruling is limited to the 8th Circuit (Arkansas, Iowa,
Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the two Dakotas),
it potentially has implications reaching to Maryland
(3rd Circuit). Similar to Morehouse, we potentially
have landowners with inherited farmland who enrolled
all or a portion of the land in the CRP program and are
otherwise not currently active in agriculture. We also
have high participation in the Conservation Reserve
Enhancement Program (CREP), which provides an
annual rental payment in return for adoption of
conservation practices to reduce sediment and
nutrient runoff into tributaries of the Chesapeake
Bay. The Morehouse decision provides some guidance
for the 3rd Circuit to decide how to handle CRP and
CREP rental payments for non-farmers for tax
purposes.
So how does IRS move forward from this
ruling? Well, IRS could finalize the proposed rule and
issue a final rule, taking the rejected position
in Morehouse (which would give IRS a better leg to
stand in future litigation involving this issue). IRS could
ask for additional review by the 8th Circuit. Or, the IRS
could be left to enforce their position in the other
circuits and wait for additional courts to reject this
position. IRS does have some options, and we will
have to wait and see how they proceed.
If you are interested in learning more about this
topic, please see McEowen, Roger, Eighth Circuit
Reverses – CRP Rents Paid to a Non-Farmer Are Not
Subject to Self-Employment Tax, Iowa State University
Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation.
This article should not be construed as legal
advice. For a link to the aforementioned article and
more information and additional ag law posts, visit
www.aglaw.umd.
Ag Law Education Initiative Reaches Out to Industry Leaders
By Sara Gavin, Communications Coordinator, UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources (abridged)
The Maryland agricultural community is
facing a diverse and complex set of legal
challenges, but experts with the Agriculture Law
Education Initiative (ALEI) now have a better
understanding of priority problems and can begin to
address them head-on. The ALEI recently published
the results of a legal needs assessment for the state’s
agricultural sector – the first of its kind in Maryland.
The needs assessment is based on 21 structured
interviews conducted with leaders from the
agricultural industry and state government. University
of Maryland Extension faculty members working with
agricultural producers were also surveyed for their
input on a variety of legal needs. To date, Illinois is the
only other state to complete a comparable survey on
the subject.
The ALEI is a collaboration under University of
Maryland: MPowering the State and combines the
expertise and efforts of three distinguished Maryland
institutions: the Francis King Carey School of Law at
the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), the
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the
University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), and the
School of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the
University of Maryland, Eastern Shore (UMES).
“This publication gave us the first set of priorities
for ALEI to begin to address in helping the agricultural
community of Maryland prosper, said Dan Kugler,
assistant dean for special programs at UMD’s College
of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “It also showed
us that the best way to deliver information is through
face-to-face workshops and fact sheets.”
The ALEI was created after the Maryland
General Assembly gave the University System of
Maryland a direct assignment in 2011: preserve
Maryland’s family farms by helping their owners
address the complicated legal issues associated with
agricultural estates and trusts, regulatory compliance,
and other agricultural law issues.
“The biggest finding to me is that we learned
Maryland agriculture as a whole has very diverse legal
needs,” said Paul Goeringer, Extension legal specialist
with UMD’s College of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, and co-author of the report. “There are
some blanket statewide concerns but when we
started breaking it down by region, we saw issues
related to production contracts ranking near the top
on the Eastern Shore and, as you go west, questions
about land use and leasing rank near the top.”
The report is now available online. [If you are
interested in viewing the report, e-mail sbh@umd.edu)
and you will be e-mailed a direct link to the report.]
Beekeeping 101 Classes Offered
University of Maryland Extension Apiculturist Mike Embrey will offer a beginning
beekeeping class at the Wye Research and Education Center in Queenstown, MD
this winter. The opening session will be held on Saturday, January 24, 2015 from
9:00 a.m. – noon. There will be a total of seven classes, the first five of which will
be held every other Saturday until April. The two final sessions will be held
approximately the second week of August and the third week of September.
Participants will learn about bees in general, about beekeeping equipment, how
and where to set up and establish a hive, how to use a smoker, how to hive a
package of bees, about bee pests and diseases, and how to winterize your bees.
Registration is $110, which includes the textbook “The Beekeeper’s Handbook,
Third Edition” by Diana Sammataro. (If you have your own textbook, the fee will
be $80.) To register, contact Debby Dant at 410-827-8056x115 or
ddant@umd.edu. Registration deadline is January 10. For questions or more
details , contact Mike Embrey at 410-827-8056x148 or membrey@umd.edu.
Young Farmer Survey Seeking Respondents
The Maryland Young Farmers Advisory Board is conducting a survey of individuals 45 years old and younger
who are involved in agriculture. The purpose of the survey is to help the Maryland Department of Agriculture,
Maryland Agriculture Commission, commodity groups, and agri-businesses to better assist young farmers. The
results of the survey will be summarized and published in mid-February. If you are eligible, please complete the
survey online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/MdYoungFarmer . Each individual who is affiliated with the farm
should complete their own survey.
Don’t Wash Your Chicken (or Turkey)!
By Rachael Keeney
As the holiday season approaches, University of
Maryland Extension educator Shauna Henley wants
people to think twice before washing their holiday
turkeys.
“I always recommend that people shouldn’t wash
their turkey, even though many instructions say to do
so,” said Henley, Ph.D., who joined UME in January as a
family and consumer sciences educator for Baltimore
County. “The problem with washing/rinsing raw
[poultry] is that the bacteria is going to be on the
surface and not internalized in muscle tissues, so the
force of the water hitting the poultry surface can cause
bacterial spray up to three feet around the area it was
washed.”
Henley became well-versed in poultry-rinsing rituals
while completing her doctoral degree at Drexel
University. She worked with nine Philadelphia focus
groups from different ethnic backgrounds (three African
American, three Hispanic, and three Asian) to see how
they acquired their poultry, how they prepared it, and
how they cleaned up and packaged leftovers. Her
findings were then organized into her dissertation
entitled “Don’t Wash Your Chicken! Results of an
Interdisciplinary Approach to Reduce Incidence of
Infectious Foodborne Diseases”.
Henley’s campaign received national exposure and
was featured in news outlets including Nightly News
with Brian Williams, ABC’s The Chew, The TODAY Show,
NPR, ESPN Pardon the Interruption, and BuzzFeed.
“The government hasn’t recommended washing
epoultry as early as 2005, so ‘Don’t Wash Your Chicken!’
was just a creative way to bring old information to new
light,” Henley said.
The bacteria typically found on raw poultry,
Salmonella spp. And Campylobacter jejuni, can be
sprayed onto other foods and utensils surrounding the
area where the turkey is being washed; and
because as few as ten Salmonella cells can cause illness
(particularly in pregnant women, children zero to five
years old, adults over 65, and those who are
immunocompromised). Washing the turkey is a
tradition that food safety experts are not so thankful
for.
“I think that our mind set is to be clean, so we wash
our hands, wash our fruits and vegetables, and the train
of thought for many is to wash [poultry]…even though
from a food safety standpoint it isn’t necessary,”
Henley said.
Now as an FCS educator for UME, Henley is helping
to update curriculum on food preservation and food
safety for youth and adults. However, her “Don’t Wash
Your Chicken!” message is still coming in handy,
particularly at this time of year.
“During the holidays when you’re sharing time and
food with family and friends, it’s really important to
practice safe food handling,” Henley said. “The best
thing I can do as an Extension educator is to provide
scientific information and allow people to make
informed decisions.”
UME Home and Garden Phone Service Cancelled
Keeping up with changes in clientele needs and teaching tools is a hallmark of
Extension work. UME faculty and staff face this challenge every day - how do we
prioritize client needs and UME resources? The Home and Garden Information
Center has gone through many changes since its creation in 1990. Recorded phone
tips, racks and racks of printed publications, and snail mail newsletters are some of
the information delivery methods we’ve used, and discontinued, over the years. As
society increasingly goes digital, so have our clients. Call volume to our 800horticultural hotline has consistently decreased by 10-15% each year. We are making
the difficult decision to end the 800 phone service as of December 22, 2014. This will
allow our horticulture consultants, known for their professionalism, expertise, and
practical answers, to focus exclusively on the “Ask an Expert” service, website
content, and media outreach. After December 22, please send questions through
“Ask an Expert” found on most UME pages. An e-mail answer from one of our
horticulture consultants will be delivered within 48 hours.
Maryland Farm and Harvest Season 2
Season two has already started airing on MPT! To help Marylanders learn more about agriculture – the state’s
number one industry – Maryland Public Television (MPT) in partnership with the Maryland Department of
Agriculture (MDA) has created Maryland Farm and Harvest, a multimedia series that puts a human face on
farming. Hosted by Joanne Clendining, Maryland Farm and Harvest takes viewers around the state to see and
experience what it’s like to run a 21st century farm – from technological advances and conservation challenges
to age-old complications such as weather hardships. The show also captures the number one reason why
planters and growers dedicate themselves to it all: their
simple love of farming! Be sure to tune in Tuesdays at
7pm (repeats Thursdays at 11:30pm and Sundays at 6:00
am). Check the schedule of topics for more information
on who and where the team will be at www.mpt.org/
programs/farm. (Source: “The Buzz,” Maryland Ag
Education Network newsletter)
Jeff Myers
Area Extension Director
Harford, Baltimore,
and Carroll Counties
Sara Meagher BhaduriHauck
Faculty Extension Assistant
Agriculture and
Natural Resources
sbh@umd.edu
Extension.umd.edu/Harford-county
facebook.com/HarfordAg
The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens 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. The
information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by University of Maryland Extension is implied.