If you haven’t registered for UMES Extension’s Small Farm Conference slated for November 4-5, the time is NOW! The annual event for agricultural stakeholders in the Mid-Atlantic is in its 19th continuous year. This year’s edition features hands-on training clinics, bus tours to sustainable and unique farming operations, notable speakers, networking opportunities and agricultural vendor exhibits.
“We’ve put together a mixture of new offerings along with the return of a few ‘back by popular demand’ tours or sessions based on feedback from last year that should appeal to a wide range of agricultural producers,” said Berran Rogers, coordinator of UMES Extension’s Small Farm Program.
Attendees can choose one of three sessions on Friday morning, including “Plant Propagation and Seed Saving,” “Learning How to Build a Beehive,” and “Controlling Wildlife Damage.” The afternoon will be filled with the ever-popular off-site farm and agricultural facility tours.
On one of the routes this year is Perennial Roots Farm in Accomack County, Va. The biodynamic farm features non-GMO open pollinated heirloom plants and heritage breed pigs, sheep, geese, chickens, rabbits and turkeys. Another stop, SunX Analytical LLC, an independent industrial hemp processing and testing laboratory facility in Cambridge, Md., offers technical resources and infrastructure in support of production in Maryland. A hit last year and worthy of a return is a visit to Newell Quinton’s farm in San Domingo for a scrapple-making demonstration and a look back at the history of the community he hopes to preserve.
Day-two topics touch on soil health and conservation, value-added product regulations, selling products to educational agencies, building cold storage, alternative income opportunities related to hemp and farm stress management. The keynote speaker for Saturday’s luncheon is Tom McDougall (pictured at right), owner and CEO of 4P Foods, an e-commerce and food delivery business headquartered near Warrenton, Va. that delivers wholesale produce to consumers, retailers, restaurants, groceries, markets, businesses and institutions through partnerships. His presentation signals a break between morning seminars and afternoon workshops.
Both days feature networking opportunities and agricultural vendor exhibits.
“Our immediate goal with the conference is to equip farmers and landowners on Delmarva and areas adjacent to the peninsula with tools and strategies to increase farm profitability and promote farm sustainability,” Rogers said. “The long-term objective is to use the event to better position limited-resource, new and beginning farmers and other underserved farmer audiences for success.”
Friday, November 4 is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, November 5 is from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The cost is $70 general admission, which includes both days, or $35 for one day, not including a nominal fee for registration. To register, click HERE. For more information, visit the conference website HERE, or contact blrogers@umes.edu or call 410-621-5450, Extension 101.
Gail Stephens, agricultural communications and media associate, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, gcstephens@umes.edu, 410-621-3850
Logo by Muhammad Khan/Photos by Gail Stephens, both UMES Ag Communications.
