Maryland Ag Works: Recent Episodes
Peggy Eppig
Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation podcast series that features the people who live, work, and teach in the world of agriculture. This series is designed for students and others interested in building a career in ag and natural resources.
This month's episode is a fast-moving, fun interview with Alejandra "Alex" Abella, an equestrian and animal husbandry facility planning and programming specialist, instructor and consultant currently residing in the Annapolis area of Maryland, about an hour away from Washington, D.C. Alex loves to talk about all the ways you can get involved with horses from self-interest to careers.
An entrepreneur at heart, Alejandra has had many passions and diverse career paths that led her to discover a love of design, planning, programming, operations, management, and teaching/training. She is an incredible illustrator - check out her books! You can learn all about who Alex is and what she teaches and writes at her website http://alejandraabella.com
Visit author Valerie Ormond at her website https://believinginhorses.com/
Check out all the cool connections to Maryland's equine world YOU can make through the Maryland Horse Industry Board at https://mda.maryland.gov/horseboard Don't forget "all you need to do is ask!"
Did you know every Maryland County and Baltimore City has one or more agricultural Extension educators who work with farmers, families, schools, and the public? Andy Kness is a plant disease researcher and agriculture educator who works out of the Harford County Ag Center. What county do you live in? Who are the agriculture and natural resources Extension educators who work in your county? How can you find out?
Visit https://extension.umd.edu/locations to find out about your county's educators, researchers, and AGNR programs like 4H and Master Gardeners.
You can find Andy if you want to learn more about what he does at https://extension.umd.edu/locations/harford-county/agriculture-and-nutrient-management
Be sure to sign up for his Extension Newsletter Ag Notes! You can find his contact information there!
Agricultural economics is a large part of the interconnected system of agriculture and ag finance is a critical piece of the field. Join Sarah Scyphers, Rebecca Frantz, and Casey Hayes in this podcast interview about what they do with Farm Credit of the Virginias to help Western Maryland farmers - and ag students - finance their projects, ideas, and businesses.
Visit Farm Credit of the Virginias to learn about all the ways a farm credit association helps farmers and the ag industry grow in their regions. https://www.farmcreditofvirginias.com/
Learn more about Farm Credit cooperatives, a national ag finance system in place since 1916! Check out all the ag finance careers through the Farm Credit system!
Rob Weaver is a soil conservationist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service who works with the Soil Conservation Districts of Harford and Cecil Counties. He helps farmers to achieve their conservation goals for their land that help keep soil in place and water clean which helps keep our soils healthy for growing crops and grazing livestock, and our Chesapeake Bay safe for aquatic life.
Rob suggests these two films to help you understand the importance of what he does as a soil conservationist and how good soil stewardship is critical to building resilience and health in our farming systems:
The Living Soil (On YouTube)
Kiss the Ground (On Netflix)
Check out the NRCS Soil Survey Tool and the Maryland Envirothon!
If you are interested in a job or career working in natural resources conservation go to USAJobs and use the keyword "NRCS" to discover a range of conservation positions available, including where they are and what the requirements are for each job type. This will help you plan for courses in college and to gain important experience needed to apply. It's also the place to go to search for internships!
To reach the NRCS soil conservationist for your Soil Conservation District (including Rob), please go to USDA Natural Resource Conservation Maryland Service Local Service Centers where you can find all Maryland county offices and staff.
Spring is here! Learn about the American Landscape Institute and its great partnership with the Community College of Baltimore County (MD) where students can study sustainable horticulture and work in the nursery and landscape industry.
Martha Pindale gives students an overview of the program and offers lots of ways to engage with the horticulture community. Love plants, being outside, and getting paid to learn and grow? Check this out!
American Landscape Institute http://www.americanlandscapeinstitute.com/
Community College of Baltimore County CCBC Sustainable Horticulture
The Rawlings Conservatory http://www.rawlingsconservatory.org/
Ladew Topiary Gardens https://ladewgardens.com/
Longwood Gardens https://longwoodgardens.org/
Today's mushroom growers are working at the cutting edge of ag technology and the intersection of environmental stewardship, medicine, and culinary arts. Cullen Palmisano is an ag entrepreneur growing big ideas with multiple projects in mushroom farming. His main farm, Healing Bounty Mushroom Farm, is near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
In this interview, Cullen mentions several resources where students and teachers can learn more about fungi and the art, craft, and business of growing them. Take a look:
Fantastic Fungi https://fantasticfungi.com/
This was a great film! It is available on Amazon Prime and includes a Watch Party option (hello, science class-at-home!)
Author and mushroom grower, Paul Staments https://fungi.com/pages/about-us
Paul Staments' farm Fungi Perfecti https://fungi.com/
What does it take to be an ag innovator? What production problems is Cullen helping to solve? What are the risks and benefits of becoming an ag innovator in a growing industry like mushroom farming?
Taste Wise Kids offers the excellent classroom and farm-based education program Days of Taste to Central Maryland fourth graders. Days of Taste director Dr. Riva Eichner-Kahn describes the program as fourth graders experience it and why it's not too early to start thinking about a career in farming and culinary. She speaks to middle and high school students about seeking opportunities to gain skills in food service and culinary or farming and why its important to "try it out!"
Days of Taste is the signature program of Taste Wise Kids https://www.tastewisekids.org/what-we-do/days-of-taste/
Check out their video to see a Taste Wise Kids program in action and meet the many farmers and chefs who play important roles as food and nutrition educators
https://youtu.be/xTehN1YvbSQ
In this episode we speak with Stephon Fitzpatrick, Coordinator for Recruitment, Retention, and Experiential Learning for the School of Agriculture at UMES, University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He tells us about educational and career-building opportunities for minority students in the agricultural industry through UMES and MANRRS, and encourages teachers and parents to support the interests of youth interested in AGNR fields.
MANRRS promotes academic and professional advancement by empowering minorities in agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences. https://www.manrrs.org/
Ag Discovery is a 3-week academic program sponsored by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) Academic Programs and USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Services is a 3-week experience where students live on campus, and discover agricultural science from AGNR faculty, practicing veterinarians, industry representatives, and USDA professionals. https://agnr.umd.edu/admissions/ag-discovery-program
UMES offers students a world of agriculture experience and higher educational opportunities across disciplines and fields. https://www.umes.edu/home/
Check out the Land Grant Scholarship Program and how to apply https://www.umes.edu/SANS/UMES-Land-Grant-Scholarship-Program/
To learn more from Stephon, please email him at sfitzpatrick@umes.edu
In this episode we meet Cathy Schmidt, Executive Director of Chesapeake Therapeutic Riding (CTR). We learn about equine-assisted healing and learning, a complex field of work that can involve recreational therapy, physical therapy, mental health and wellness. Students will learn what it takes to create and benefit from an internship or service project in this equine field which requires good people skills, a passion for helping others, and working with some very special horses.
Chesapeake Therapeutic Learning (CTR) is located in Harford County, Maryland. Their website with contact information and volunteer application can be found here: https://ctrchanginglives.org