AgFS Connection newsletter header
Updated: June 26, 2025

Volume 1  | Issue 2  | June 2025

Inside this issue:
Dr. Wendy Powers (left), Jenny Rhodes (center), and Dr. Shannon Dill (right)
Dr. Wendy Powers (left), Jenny Rhodes (center), and Dr. Shannon Dill (right). Image credit: Washington State University (left) and E. Remsberg (center and right)

Message from the Editor

The University of Maryland has named Dr. Wendy Powers dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, effective July 1, 2025. Dr. Powers will build on the college’s more than 150-year history to advance its strategic commitments to serve the public good, steward a healthy planet, feed and nourish communities and build a sustainable tomorrow, serving the state of Maryland and beyond. To learn more, visit go.umd.edu/AGNRDean. 

AgFirst Farm Credit Bank stockholders elected Jenny Rhodes, AgFS Extension educator in Queen Anne’s County, to the board of directors. AgFirst provides support and financing for associations that lend to farmers, homeowners, production agriculture, agribusiness, and rural infrastructure in 15 states and Puerto Rico. Read more at go.umd.edu/25-AgFirst-Director. 

Dr. Shannon Dill, AgFS Extension educator in Talbot County and new UME Assistant Director of Operations, completed her Doctor of Business Administration at the University of Maryland Global Campus last month. Congratulations to Shannon for completing this major professional milestone!

Dr. Colby Silvert, assistant professor of agricultural and extension education, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture received the Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The award recognizes Colby’s extensive international work and his ability to collaborate with extension and agricultural educators, farmers, value chain actors, community leaders, and research institutes. To learn more, visit go.umd.edu/uiucstewartaward. 
 

Racheal Slattery, Kurt Vollmer, Kayle Krieg, Andrea Franchini, and Stephanie Lansing pictured with Dean Beyrouty
Racheal Slattery, Kurt Vollmer, Kayle Krieg, Andrea Franchini, and Stephanie Lansing pictured with Dean Beyrouty.  Image Credit: Edwin Remsberg

The UMD College of Agriculture and Natural Resources recognized AgFS faculty and staff earlier this month with the awards shown below:

The UMD College of Agriculture and Natural Resources recognized AgFS faculty and staff earlier this month with the awards shown below: 

  • On Campus Staff Excellence Award: Racheal Slattery, Coordinator, Department of Animal and Avian Sciences
  • Off-Campus Junior Faculty Award: Kurt Vollmer, Weed Management Specialist, AgFS
  • DEIR Standard of Excellence Award- Faculty/Staff: Andrea Franchini, Program Management Specialist, AgFS, and Kayle Krieg, Environment and Natural Resources, Sea Grant
  • Integrated Research and Extension Excellence Award: Stephanie Lansing, Professor, Department of Environmental Science and Technology (ENST)
  • 2025 Dean’s Grantsmanship Award: Stephanie Lansing, Professor, ENST

USDA-NIFA Update recognized the AgFS Poultry Team’s highly pathogenic avian influenza project focused on biosecurity education. USDA-NIFA provided funding for the work conducted by the team. Visit go.umd.edu/0525NIFAUpdate. 

The University of Maryland Extension (UME) and Maryland Nursery, Landscape, and Greenhouse Association (MNLGA) will honor Stanton Gill with a day-long symposium to celebrate Stanton and dedicate the Stanton A. Gill Lab at Central Maryland Research and Education Center (CMREC)-Clarksville. The day will feature morning lectures about Stanton’s research passions by Dr. Michael Brownbridge, biological program manager, BioWorks and Dr. Paula Shrewsbury, professor of entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. The afternoon will feature talks by five industry professionals Stanton mentored. They will share his impact on their past and future work.

For FY 2025, the Agricultural Nutrient Management Program has received requests for 1,299 plans, 882 have complete information, and 822 plans have been completed (over 93%) through March 31, 2025. This encompasses 163,202 acres and 154 fields with 2,583 acres that required Phosphorus Management Tool (PMT) evaluation. 

LEAD Maryland started recruiting Class XIV on June 1. The new cohort will start the program in early 2026. Please visit go.umd.edu/LEAD26-27-pdf for the benefits of this professional development opportunity. 

Ten interns have been selected from ten different colleges across Maryland and beyond to participate in the UME 10 week full-time internship program that started May 27th. The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture AFRI Competitive Grant Workforce Development Program supported the creation of a meaningful summer internship for students to gain technical skills and train a future. To read the student blogs, please visit go.umd.edu/umeinterns25.

A Spotlight on Recent Publications

Explore some of our latest peer-reviewed publications. Our dedicated faculty is diligently working to bring you the most current insights on a variety of agricultural topics, inspiring growth and innovation.

New and Updated UME Extension Publications

  • Dill, S., Hirsh, S., Newton, S., Kumar, H., Vollmer, K., Fiorellino, N., & Kness, A. (2025, March). University of Maryland Extension Winter Meeting Data 2023-2024 (FS-2024-0744). go.umd.edu/fS-2024-0744
  • Dill, S., Newton, S., Kness, A., Crowl, E., Hirsh, S., & Rhodes, J. (2025). University of Maryland Extension Winter Meeting Data 2023 (FS-2024-0731). go.umd.edu/FS-2024-0731
  • Goeringer, P., & Majnooni S. (Updated 2025, 2015). Understanding Agricultural Liability: Premise’s Liability (FS-1001). go.umd.edu/FS-1001
  • Goeringer, P., Majnooni, S., & Russo, H., (2024). Guidelines for Delaware and Maryland Ag Operations on Writing an Employee Manual (EB-2024-0725). go.umd.edu/EB-2024-0725
  • Hirsh, S., Sater, H., & Joseph, D. (2025, March). Cover Crop Planning (FS-2024-0743). go.umd.edu/FS-2024-0743
  • Hirsh, S., Sater, H., & Moyle, J. (2025, March). Giant Miscanthus on Marginal Land: A Sustainable Solution for Challenging Conditions (FS- 2024-0735). go.umd.edu/FS-2024- 0735
  • Nichols, K. (2025). Beginning Farmer Resource Guide: For Frederick, Howard, and Montgomery Counties, Maryland (FS-2023-0691). go.umd.edu/FS-2023-0691
  • Thilmany, E., Masson, L., Lansing, S., and Wietelman, D. (2025). Maryland’s Nutrient, Animal Waste, and Technology Landscape (FS-2024-0737). go.umd.edu/FS-2024-0737

Trade Journal Article

Franchini, A., Izursa, J-L., & Little, N. (2025) Affordable aquaponics. Greenhouse Canada, 2025 (March/April). https://mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=842344

Academic Journal Articles

  • Myers, E.A., K.M. Vollmer, A.G. Ristvey, and N.M. Fiorellino. 2025. Weed Pressure across Sequential Plantings of Industrial Fiber Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Produced in the Mid-Atlantic. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment. https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.70090
  • Palli, A.* and Kumar, H. (2024). Integration of Smart Drones and AI into Agriculture – A Review. Journal of NACAA.

27th Annual Maryland Commodity Classic

The 2025 Maryland Commodity Classic will be held in-person at the Queen Anne’s County 4-H Park locat-ed in Centreville, MD on Thursday, July 24th, 2025. For tickets and more information, please go to go.umd.edu/commodityclassic25.

Ad for the Maryland Commodity Classic.

University of Maryland Extension Agriculture and Food Systems program offers many resources. Check them out!

 

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