{"id":10650,"date":"2024-08-13T14:22:20","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T18:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/?p=10650"},"modified":"2024-08-29T09:16:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T13:16:55","slug":"umes-event-features-environmentally-friendly-agricultural-practices-equipment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/for-the-media\/umes-event-features-environmentally-friendly-agricultural-practices-equipment\/","title":{"rendered":"UMES event features environmentally friendly agricultural practices, equipment"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Impending foul weather from Tropical Storm Debby held off in Princess Anne for the fourth annual UMES Ag Showcase. It was a hot and humid, but informative, day for about 175 attendees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am not sure who spoke with Mother Nature, but they should get a round of applause. We want to thank UMES and all who were involved with the showcase for this collaboration and the opportunity to educate the community about agriculture,\u201d said Carrie Glasgow (at right)<\/em><\/strong>, a field technician with Simplot Grower Solutions, who presented information on corn field trials involving seven seed varieties and a microbial product for phosphorus use efficiency called Revv-uP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agricultural producers and gardeners spent the better part of the day at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore\u2019s Research, Extension and Teaching Farm just south of campus. The free event, held in partnership with Simplot Grower Solutions, Atlantic Tractor LLC and Mountaire\u2019s Prime Quality Grain, attracted farmers from near and far.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cPrecision farming information and updates on the newest technology is what brings me back each year,\u201d said Max Schnoor Jr. (at left)<\/em><\/strong>, a farmer from Dorchester County with a medium-size operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smart-farming technology<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schnoor and fellow farmers got a look at John Deere\u2019s ExactShot and See & Spray equipment designed to reduce the necessary amounts of starter fertilizer and in-season herbicide, respectively. The ExactShot uses sensors and robotics to fertilize seeds with precision as they are planted, rather than applying a continuous flow to the entire row. Similarly, See & Spray involves targeting and spraying weeds with only the amount of chemical needed, proving to be more cost effective for growers and more friendly for the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n

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First-timers Angela Washington-Daniels of Prince George\u2019s County and her husband, Charles (at right with Dr. Moses T. Kairo)<\/em><\/strong>, came to \u201clearn about modernized technology and equipment as well as understand available resources and partnership interests in terms of cultural exchange.\u201d Charles, who was visiting the U.S. for the first time, owns a small to mid-size farm in the southeast region of Nigeria, Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alternative crops<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A gardener from Salisbury, Joseph Derbyshire, attended for the first-time in search of integrated pest management solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a nice facility, busy with activities with an environmental focus from what I see,\u201d Derbyshire said. \u201cThat\u2019s important: environmental management and sustainable operations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attendees like Derbyshire took part in the alternative crop production tour, with stops at the site\u2019s vineyard, tree farm, and specialty herb and ethnic crop gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadanand Dhekney, a professor of plant breeding and biotechnology, showcased cultivation research on 44 varieties of grapes being grown on the farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe goal of the project is to identify the varieties and management practices that do well in the region\u2019s climate and soil conditions to pass on to growers,\u201d Dhekney said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the challenges, he cautioned, are birds, insect pests, disease and proper drainage.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Maryland Department of Energy environmental compliance specialist Colin McAllister (far right)<\/em><\/strong> was also interested in sustainability and \u201cbetter use of organic fertilizer and innovations in phosphorus management.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI also like to see what\u2019s going on with innovative crops,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crops for bioenergy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and a co-worker, Richard Stewart (second from right)<\/em><\/strong>, took in the tour of different trees being grown at UMES for use as a sustainable bioenergy feedstock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Jonathan Cumming (at right center)<\/em><\/strong>, chair of UMES\u2019 Department of Natural Sciences, is involved in a research project growing trees and switchgrass as a renewable energy source and alternative crop for farmers. Among the benefits, he said, are carbon sequestration to help mitigate climate change, supporting soil health and providing a crop that does not take away from the global food supply.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWhen you think of Somerset County, you think of agriculture and seafood,\u201d said Danny Thompson (at left)<\/em><\/strong>, executive director of Somerset County, Maryland\u2019s Economic Development Commission, who attended Ag Showcase. \u201cAgriculture is so critical to the economic development in this rural region. The existence of UMES right here in the center of ag country, there are so many positive things that come of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gail Stephens, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, <\/em>gcstephens@umes.edu<\/em><\/a>, 410-621-3850.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photos by Todd Dudek, agricultural communications, University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, UMES Extension, <\/em>tdudek@umes.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Impending foul weather from Tropical Storm Debby held off in Princess Anne for the fourth annual UMES Ag Showcase. It was a hot and humid, but informative, day for about 175 attendees. \u201cI am not sure who spoke with Mother Nature, but they should get a round of applause. We want to thank UMES and…Read more UMES event features environmentally friendly agricultural practices, equipment<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1168,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","wds_primary_category":56,"footnotes":""},"categories":[139,45,56,19],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-10650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-august-2024-connections","category-connections","category-for-the-media","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1168"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10650"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=10650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}