GARRETT COUNTY AG NEWSLETTER
Maryland Department of Agriculture will give the Private Applicator Pesticide License exam at the Garrett County Extension Office on Thursday, April 18th at noon. If anyone is interested in taking the exam please contact the Extension Office by calling 301-334-6960. The Extension office has study materials available for the exam.
University of Maryland Extension will offer a high tunnel construction workshop with three sessions. The three sessions will be held on Friday, April 19th at 5pm at the Garrett County Extension Office, Saturday, April 20th from 8am to 4pm and a third date to be determined. The workshop will introduce anyone interested in building a high tunnel to the materials and construction techniques used to build a high tunnel. A majority of the time will be spent working on the construction of a high tunnel so participants will get hands on experience. There is no cost for the workshop. Contact the extension office to register by April 15th at 301-334-6960. Another workshop may be conducted in mid summer if you are interested but can not attend this workshop, call in and let us know if you would like to attend a workshop at a later date.
The Appalachian Farm and Food Alliance (AFFA) met on Tuesday, March 26 th at the Garrett County
Extension Office. The AFFA is a non-profit organization established to facilitate collaboration between agricultural and food system service providers to educate the public and provide solutions for food insecurity through the creation of a resilient, sustainable and equitable food and agriculture system across the region.
The main purpose of the meeting was to elect a board of directors for the newly formed organization. The board of directors currently consists of Chair - Willie Lantz, Vice Chair – Shelly Argabrite, Secretary – Cheryl DeBerry and Treasurer – Melissa Bolyard. The by-laws for the organization state that the board can have a total of 12 board of directors. Nominations were solicited and a total of 17 nominations were received. Shelly Argabrite resigned her position leaving a total of 9 positions available. The following individuals were elected to the Board of Directors: Tabitha Barabarito, Amanda Klotz, Jen Thomas, Darryl Glotfelty, Amy Jones, Corey Edmonds, Katharine Dubansky, Brenda McDonald and Andrea Uphold. Board members will serve a one-year term as the initial board of directors. Jen Thomas was elected to serve as the vice chair. A committee was established to review the organizations by-laws and report back to the next meeting.
It was voted to hold meetings quarterly on the 2 nd Thursday of the month starting at 4:30pm. The
meetings will be held at various locations throughout the area and a zoom option will be provided. The next meeting of the AFFA will be held on Thursday, June 13 th at 4:30pm at the Garrett County Extension Office. The meetings are open to the public. Anyone who would like to receive a notice of the meeting please contact Willie Lantz at 301-334-6960 or wlantz@umd.edu.
The Western Maryland Food Council (WMFC) is planning to hold a workgroup session on April 18 th at 4:30pm at the Garrett County Extension Office. The meeting will also be held via zoom. The WMFC has four workgroups: food economy, food access, food education and environmental impacts. The WMFC workgroups are a place for community members to discuss ways to improve the agriculture and food system through projects and policies. We encourage participation in the workgroups as a way to collaborate with others toward common goals. If you would be interested in receiving a reminder notice or the zoom link for the meeting please call Willie Lantz at 301-334-6960 or wlantz@umd.edu.
The Garrett Soil Conservation District has begun rental of their No-Till Drill and their Lime Spreader for the 2024 season. The cost to rent the Drill is $10 per acre. The Spreader is $3 per ton. The No-Till Drill is a JD 1590, weighing approximately 7,500 lbs. Movement of the drill requires a tractor or truck equipped with a hitch with adequate towing capacity. A minimum of a 85 PTO horsepower tractor is recommended. For more information about rentals, please go to https://garrettscd.org/agriculture or call 301-501-5886.
The Maryland Department of Agriculture is reminding farmers they may apply for cost-share funding to help cover the cost of transporting all types of manure to crop fields with acceptable soil phosphorus levels. Grants are also available to offset the cost of injecting liquid manure into soil to prevent nutrient runoff and reduce odors.
Program highlights include:
- Transporting poultry manure to qualifying fields with acceptable soil phosphorus levels or alternative use projects that can safely utilize the product; farmers may receive up to $28/ton.
- Cost-share grants are available to transport dairy and livestock manure to qualifying fields, covering up to 87.5% of eligible costs.
- FastTrack and standard transport options are available for both poultry and dairy or livestock manure.
- Farmers may receive up to $45/acre for costs associated with injecting liquid manure into the soil. Please note, poultry manure is not eligible for this option due to its low moisture content.
For more information go to https://garrettscd.org/manuretransportgrants/
Farm Service Agency is announcing the signup for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program which began February 28 and will run through April 29, 2024. DMC continues to offer protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer.
If anyone has questions, Please call 301-501-5885 for more information.
Please click here to update your contact information and to stay updated on everything agriculture-related in Garrett County and the tri-state area.
William Lantz, Principal Agent
Agriculture & Food System
Office Hours: Monday-Friday
8:00 am - 4:30 pm
Except for Observed Holidays
Email: rcvetnic@umd.edu
Website: https://extension.umd.edu/locations/garrett-county
Location: 1916 Maryland Hwy., Suite A, Mt. Lake Park, MD 21550
Phone: 301-334-6960
Office Hours: M-F 8:30 am-4:30 pm excluding holidays
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/4HGarrettCoMD