{"id":11117,"date":"2024-11-06T13:39:12","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T18:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/?p=11117"},"modified":"2024-11-13T09:47:49","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T14:47:49","slug":"umes-small-farm-conference-fosters-cooperation-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/connections\/umes-small-farm-conference-fosters-cooperation-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"UMES Small Farm Conference fosters cooperation, innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A record drought this fall has area farmers looking for ways to remain viable in the ever-challenging agricultural industry, one of the top economic drivers on the Eastern Shore and in Maryland. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore\u2019s iconic Student Services Center was abuzz Nov. 1-2 with more than 200 agricultural stakeholders seeking solutions, ideas and opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cPositioning Farmers for Success,\u201d the theme of the university\u2019s 21st<\/sup> annual Small Farm Conference<\/a>, hit the proverbial nail on the head with informational sessions, hands-on workshops, speakers and off-site bus tours designed to give farmers practical, research-based and shared knowledge to apply to their agribusinesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis event has never been more relevant than this year as a means of connecting farmers to university and partner resources, researchers and extension educators, entrepreneurs and agritourism operators,\u201d said Berran Rogers Jr<\/strong>., (right)<\/em> coordinator of the Small Farm Program at UMES and event chair.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Attendees ranged from beginning farmers to those looking to transition their farms to the next generation. They explored high-value alternative crops like berries, mushrooms, pawpaws, cut flowers, callaloo, jute and hibiscus. Agribusiness topics covered ground-up sustainability for beginning farmers, cooperative farming and transitioning to agritourism to diversify farm profitability. Beekeeping and pest management provided insight into pollinating and protecting plants.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThere is strength in community. This gathering in the spirit of cooperation, innovation and resilience exemplifies a powerful network of sustainable agricultural producers capable of feeding the nation,\u201d Dr. Moses T. Kairo<\/strong>, (left)<\/em> dean of UMES\u2019 School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, said during a welcome address. \u201cEach of you play a critical role in finding solutions, exploring best practices and shaping the future of small farm production.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First-time attendee Ethan Cook<\/strong> (right)<\/em> came in part to take advantage of the in-person SNAP vendor application. The proprietor of Round Stone Farm in Cambridge, Maryland, a quarter-acre permaculture farm, sat in on the berry production session for blueberry cultivation know-how. Repeat attendee Peggy Scarborough<\/strong> of Accomack County, Virginia, however, was looking to network, hone best growing practices and to \u201clearn how to farm different crops.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Small fruits, non-traditional agriculture and business aspects were among the things Jasmine Bestul-Taylor<\/strong>, (far left) <\/em>owner of a micro-farm in Prince George\u2019s County, Maryland, was keen on taking away from the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a lot of information you can find online, but it\u2019s nicer to talk to a person to walk you through steps, ask questions and have a contact for later,\u201d Bestul-Taylor said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Michael and Rhonda McLaughlin<\/strong>, (right) <\/em>grain farmers from Caroline County, Maryland, attended with their son, Christopher<\/strong>, an aspiring farmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re branching out into something new like value-added crops for diversification,\u201d Michael McLaughlin said. \u201cWe personally believe in feeding people and aim to partner with SNAP and the Maryland Food Bank to provide healthy foods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Small Farm Conference sees changes in the makeup of its attendees each year, Kairo noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the most important aspects that remains is that it is continuous, providing innovative information that growers can apply to their farming operations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Click HERE<\/a> for event photo gallery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gail Stephens, agricultural communications and media associate, 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

Photo 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\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A record drought this fall has area farmers looking for ways to remain viable in the ever-challenging agricultural industry, one of the top economic drivers on the Eastern Shore and in Maryland. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore\u2019s iconic Student Services Center was abuzz Nov. 1-2 with more than 200 agricultural stakeholders seeking solutions, ideas…Read more UMES Small Farm Conference fosters cooperation, innovation<\/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":45,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,56,143],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-11117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connections","category-for-the-media","category-november-2024"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11117","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=11117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11117\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11117"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=11117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}