{"id":7728,"date":"2021-11-22T14:21:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-22T19:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/?p=7728"},"modified":"2023-06-21T14:28:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T18:28:41","slug":"farmers-highlighted-on-small-farm-conference-bus-tour-share-experience-in-new-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/extension-news-releases\/farmers-highlighted-on-small-farm-conference-bus-tour-share-experience-in-new-operation\/","title":{"rendered":"Farmers highlighted on Small Farm Conference bus tour share experience in new operation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Mike<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mike<\/strong> and Kelly Edwards<\/strong>, owners and operators of the 103-acre Wood Duck Landing Farm<\/a> on Deal Island Road, are three years into a mission to produce high quality produce through regenerative agriculture that is sustainable and economically viable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike explains, \u201cWe believe that the condition of the land in the area right now is poor. It\u2019s very simple:  the supply and demand market has caused economic pressures, forcing farmers to not use the best practices.  Traditional corn and soybean farmers have had to use significant amounts of synthetic fertilizer to get anything to grow and the fields are overloaded with phosphorus.  Basically, we have degraded the ability to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Current agricultural methods are not sustainable, he said, and the real root of the cause is economic viability.  \u201cOur environment and our technology have made it possible to grow more product on less acreage at the cost of the soil.  We are trying to fix that by using practices that will restore the soil, help the environment and be a model for the Eastern Shore and elsewhere to see what\u2019s happening here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not organic, this is what I call \u2018smart farming.\u2019  We\u2019ll use all the modern technologies, but in the proper way and as minimally as possible,\u201d Mike said.  \u201cOne example is we have cover crop in the same field that’s producing year-round.  At any given time, we\u2019re only farming 20-30% of the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also use different types of cover crop every year.  \u201cLast year, we used clover to sequester nitrogen and we put a lot of organic matter back into the soil to try to build it up.  I call it not farming greedily\u2014farming at a point where the land can support us.  Once the soil is in better condition, we can get better production.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Edwards\u2019 grow 56 different \u201citems on the board.\u201d  Specialty crops are just a small, but important, portion of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we found was that for most of the traditional crops that are being grown, the markets are saturated and the margins are so low that sometimes it isn\u2019t worth growing.  That\u2019s why we are looking more to the specialty or ethnic crops\u2014one, to help fill that need and two, to actually try to make a living,\u201d Mike said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UMES Extension<\/a>\u2019s alternative crop<\/a> specialist Dr. Nadine Burton, he said, \u201chas been instrumental working with us and trying to make that happen,\u201d from information on growing Jamaican crops, such as callaloo, Scotch bonnet peppers and Jamaican pumpkins to finding markets for them in Washington, D. C.  Dr. Naveen Kumar Dixit, an assistant professor and extension specialist in the Horticulture and Fruits program<\/a>, has also worked with the couple to grow and market Asian vegetables like bitter melon or gourd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe look at information from all over the world for the things we do, but we also look to the university,\u201d Kelly points out.  \u201cThey come out and offer ideas and solutions and we come up with our own ideas in collaboration.  Everyone keeps an open mind and has a similar goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelly lists several projects they have done with university researchers.  With entomologist Dr. Simon Zebelo, the couple participated in studies of capture crops for watermelon, squash and a SARE grant study of sweet corn.  \u201cWe also donated our blueberry plot to the university to study fruit flies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked what the biggest challenges have been, a hearty chuckle comes from Kelly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike stepped in. \u201cEvery year and every season offers different challenges.  You never know what\u2019s coming around the corner.\u201d  Year one, he said, they were just getting started and learning the industry. \u201cFarming is a lot more than just growing produce.  Growing produce is the easy part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The difficult part is learning the business end of it, Kelly said, which is her part of the partnership. \u201cWho\u2019s going to buy it, where is it going to go, what is it going to cost, getting our market share\u2026all the logistics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhich we thought we had it all squared away at the end of year one and ready for year two.  All of our buyers were in place, everything was set and ready to go and guess what happened?  A thing called COVID came along and everything (buyers) disappeared.  The restaurants that were going to buy our stuff shut down,\u201d Mike said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe had to figure out and re-invent,\u201d Kelly said.  \u201cWe started doing some farmers markets, but it wasn\u2019t adequate (for income).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Year three, COVID has eased and things are starting to come back, Mike said.  \u201cThis year the biggest challenge was not enough labor.\u201d  Kelly added, \u201cWe have buyers, but not enough people to pull it out of the field.  Every year there\u2019s something.\u201d  She recalls the tropical storm that took out their sweet corn and they were forced to re-plant the whole field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about their biggest success, Mike laughed, \u201cWe\u2019re still here and we\u2019re still married!\u201d\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s a big one,\u201d Kelly adds, \u201cIt\u2019s tough on a marriage because you\u2019re working all the time and often going in different directions.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cGotta do what you need to do to make it work,\u201d Mike said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just typical agriculture,\u201d Mike said.\u00a0 \u201cThe pests, the weather, a drought, those normal things that can kill a farm, we can deal with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Mike<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

On advice to a start-up farmer, Mike said, \u201cSpend a year working for a farmer in the area of your interest to see how it really works.  A lot of people have the idea that farming is just planting some seeds, some stuff grows and you make money.  That is just a little piece of farming.  If you don\u2019t have the complete circle, you will fail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe thing that works for us is that I have learned the business end and Mike has learned the farming end,\u201d Kelly said.  \u201cYou have to have the answers to: Where are you going to sell it? How do you figure out a profit and loss statement?  How do you figure out what your net really is? What can or can\u2019t you sell something for?  How do you know if you\u2019re making money or losing money?  If you aren\u2019t making money, you won\u2019t be in business.  That\u2019s one of the things I think we\u2019ve gotten down to this year is our actual costs of a crop.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their advice:  start small!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Photos by Todd Dudek<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mike and Kelly Edwards, owners and operators of the 103-acre Wood Duck Landing Farm on Deal Island Road, are three years into a mission to produce high quality produce through regenerative agriculture that is sustainable and economically viable. Mike explains, \u201cWe believe that the condition of the land in the area right now is poor. It\u2019s very simple:  the…Read more Farmers highlighted on Small Farm Conference bus tour share experience in new operation<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"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":17,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-7728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-extension-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7728","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\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7728\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7728"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwwcp.umes.edu\/sans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=7728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}