Intern Insights
2026 AAUFRC Intern Experience
By Teagan Flaherty
UME Student Intern
This summer was quite the adventure here in Anne Arundel County as well as my travels across
the state at various events. One of the biggest highlights of my summer was our donations to the
Anne Arundel County Food Bank. All of the produce was collected from the Anne Arundel
County Urban Farming Research Clinic throughout the summer and included peaches, zucchini,
cucumbers, tomatoes, and jalapeños. As of my last day in the office, we had a total count of
1,788 pounds of produce donated this summer. In addition to the produce donated, we were
happy to once again collaborate with Pherm Brewery to provide them with all of our blackberries
this season, as well as some jalapeños, cucumbers, and hops that will be used in their IPAs.
Beyond all that was donated, it is important to note all of the hands-on skills I learned while
working on the farm with Dave this summer. I completed a variety of tasks such as thinning
peach trees, weeding sunflowers, and planting pumpkins by hand. Due to this, I now feel
extremely confident in my agricultural knowledge and that I could discuss these topics with
farmers in a professional setting. More importantly, Dave also gave me ample opportunity to
expand on my entomology knowledge, as that is a major passion of mine. I was not only able to
keep records of our moth traps as part of a project for Dr. Kelly Hamby but also scout for pests in
the field to notify Dave if he needed to spray insecticides. From this, I was also able to note what
beneficial insects were on the farm to develop data on the type of insect communities living on
urban farms. The data in total was minimal but found a wide variety of insect orders and an
abundance of pollinators such as butterflies, beetles, and bees.
View Teagan's Intern Exit Seminar Slides
2025 AAUFRC Intern Experience
By Mike Ribblett
UME Student Intern
This summer I had the privilege to work with and learn from Dave Myers and Brian Hufker at Anne Arundel Extension Urban Farming Research Clinic (AAUFRC). We focused on growing a multitude of crops that have high yields. Out of our plot plan, the most bountiful produce included tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins, melons, green beans, and peppers. Out of everything we grew this summer, and after we conducted our research, we donated over 1000lbs to the Anne Arundel Foodbank. In addition to working in the AAUFRC, I was given the opportunity to collaborate with our local brewery, the Pherm Brewery Company, to create a local Maryland grown IPA. The AAUFRC donated 52 lbs of
blackberries, 12 lbs of Hops, and 36 lbs of jalapeno peppers to the Pherm Brewing Company, which were combined with locally grown and malted barley to create a 100% Maryland homage beer named, “Let My Inspiration Phlow”. It is still currently on tap and in cans at the Pherm Brewing Company.
Out of all the knowledge this summer the one portion I am most excited to build upon is my pesticide usage and
integrated pest management (IPM) experience. Dave was able to show me how to mix, clean, and very prescriptively spray pesticides to protect our plants on the farm. I will be taking this knowledge with me wherever I go, as part of my future in agriculture. I am eternally grateful for everything Dave and Brian shared with me this summer at the AAUFRC.