UMES Extension’s
Annual Small Farm Conference
NEXT DATE | November 2023 (TBD)
Highlights From 2022
This year’s 19th annual event on November 4-5, 2022 attracted nearly 200 participants who signed up for either one day or both days and enjoyed sessions, tours, and overall conference experience.
About the Conference
The main objective of this two-day event is to equip farmers and landowners in Maryland and along the Delmarva Peninsula with tools and strategies to increase farm profitability and promote farm sustainability. Simultaneously, UMES Extension utilized this event to build, revise, and expand program and outreach activities to appeal to and address individual as well as community needs, emerging problems, and concerns of target groups focusing on limited-resource, new and beginning, and the underserved farmers.
Ideas? We want to hear from you!
- Submit a Session Proposal – We accept proposals for sessions on a rolling basis. Please submit your request for the 2023 conference ASAP.
- Suggest a Speaker – Let us know who you’d like to see present or be a keynote speaker at our conference.
- Sponsor, Exhibit or Advertise – Click to learn more about our sponsorship, exhibit and advertising opportunities.
Some of Last Year’s Presentations
Tom McDougall‘s Keynote Speech
Broadly, 2022’s conference comprised the events as listed below:
Demonstrations and tours (Day 1)
Hands-on Training Clinics
- Seed Saving and Plant Propagation Techniques (Dr. Leonard Githinji, VSU; Ms. Henriette den Ouden and Dr. Nadine Burton, UMES) –
- Building and Constructing Your Own Beehive (Tom Babcock of Babcock Apiary)
- Strategies Controlling Wildlife Damage (Dr. Luke Macaulay, Wildlife Management Specialist)
Farm Bus Tours
- Perennial Roots Farm
- San Domingo Community
- SunX Analytical
Session Tracks: Alternative Agriculture, Farm Business & Marketing and Sustainable Farming (Day 2)
Breakout Sessions
- African and Asian Heritage Crops for Alternative Markets
- Procurement Guidelines for Selling to Local Education Agencies
- Farm Stress Management
- Navigating Regulatory Requirements of Value-Added Production
- Soil Health and Cultivating Conservation Practices
- and much more
Exhibitor/Vendor Visitation and Mini Informational Sessions
Luncheon & Keynote Speaker – Tom McDougall
Afternoon Workshops
- Transitioning Land to the Next Generation (Sponsored By: American Farmland Trust)
- Learning How to Build a Cold Storage
