Wednesday, November 29, 2006
PRINCESS ANNE, MD – Farmers from the Eastern and Western shores of Maryland and beyond were in attendance to learn new tools for their trade at the third annual Small Farm Conference at the University of Eastern Shore (UMES) earlier this month.
More than three dozen registrants attended sessions that included a hands-on sheep and goat production workshop plus presentations on new varieties of specialty vegetables (e.g., “personal-sized” cantaloupes), food safety and bio-security, as well as multiple presentations to assist farmers with their marketing and finding grants.
Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Lewis R. Riley and Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse both offered keynote addresses focusing on their efforts and successes in moderating the surge in land development to preserve and promote the interests of agriculture-related industries on the Delmarva Peninsula. The conference was co-sponsored by Maryland Cooperative Extension at UMES and the Cooperative Extension Service at Delaware State University as well as the Maryland Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Project.
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Kat Harting, media specialist, UMES Department of Agriculture, 410-651-6084, kharting@umes.edu.
Contact: Hermetta O. Hudson, administrative assistant, Maryland Cooperative Extension, 410-651-6206, hohudson@umes.edu.
Maureen McNeill, UMES Office of Public Relations, 410-651-2355, memcneill@umes.edu.
