Event: Ag Integrated Pest Management Web Series
Time: 12 noon - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Online webinar (via Zoom)
Description: Weeds, diseases, and insects are often a major concern for growers in Maryland. Integrated pest management (IPM) programs incorporate multiple pest management strategies into their production practices. Join us monthly for timely topics to help manage pests on the farms. Hosted via Zoom, on the Third Thursday of every month at noon, these one-hour sessions are both informative and interactive, providing an opportunity for participants to learn and engage with specialists in the field.
- June 26th - Palmer amaranth and pigweed control - Dr. Kurt M. Vollmer, University of Maryland Extension Specialist-Weed Management
- July 17th - Corn spot and tar update and prevention - Andy Kness, University of Maryland Extension
- August 21st - Managing late-season corn earworm - Hayden Schug, University of Maryland Extension
- September 18th - Neo-P and other strawberry diseases - Dr. Mengjun Hu, University of Maryland
- October 16th - Cover crops for weed management - Dr. Dwayne Joseph, University of Maryland Extension
Pesticide Credits will be available but vary by date. Please contact Emily Zobel (ezobel@umd.edu) or Hayden Schug (hschug@umd.edu) for more information.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Emily Zobel (ezobel@umd.edu) or Hayden Schug (hschug@umd.edu).
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Event: Specialty Mushroom Farming Workshop
Date: June 2, 2025 | Monday
Time: 9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Cost: $23 (which includes Eventbrite processing fee, lunch, and an inoculated mushroom bag to take home.)
Location: The Central Maryland Research and Extension Center at Clarksville, 4240 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City, MD 21024
Description: Are you a specialty mushroom farmer? Are you ready to level up your business? Come learn from other growers and from UMD Extension. This workshop will include a hands-on demonstration of how to sterilize and inoculate your own substrate grow bags. Each participant will go home with their own bag to grow out. Grower talks will cover their experiences with producing and marketing specialty mushrooms.
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/specialty-mushroom-farming-workshop-tickets-1359007962399?aff=oddtdtcreator
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Event: Virtual - FSMA HARPC for Human foods course
Dates: June 10-13, 2025 | Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm | Cost: $560.00
Location: Online
Description: We have a maximum of 20 spots available. Please spread the word among your network. Note: This is the newly revised course that follows the revised approach to Hazard Analysis as delineated in V2.0 curriculum. If you have already taken the course with the previous version and would like a refresher on how the revised curriculum has evolved in terms of Hazard Analysis, you may enroll in this course for a refresher at a discounted rate. Please reach out to me if you would like to enroll in the refresher version. You will not receive a certificate for the refresher course. You are not required to retake the revised course if you have taken the previous version of the course
For more information and to register: https://umd-nfs.catalog.instructure.com/courses/preventive-controls-for-human-foods-v-20-june-10-13-2025
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Event: Crops Twilight Barbecue & Ice Cream Social
Date: August 5, 2025 | Tuesday
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Location: Central Maryland Research & Education Center, 2005 Largo Road, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Description: A barbecue dinner will be served at 4:00 pm, followed by homemade ice cream before the evening tour. University of Maryland Extension Educators and Specialists will showcase their field crop, vegetable, and fruit research plots. This event is free. However, a reserved meal ticket is required. If you need special assistance to participate, please contact the Anne Arundel County Extension office at 301-226-7470 by August 4th.
For registration and more information: https://extension.umd.edu/locations/anne-arundel-county/agriculture-food-systems/upcoming-programs
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Hiring and Retaining Farm Employees – What you Need to Know and Do
Are you trying to find, hire and keep great employees? Is it a bit confusing and time consuming? Do you know where to start and who to involve? Are you worried about the legal considerations when having non-family members employed? This course will help you sort through all these questions and concerns. Navigating this process doesn’t have to be difficult as this course will share with you. Through the four modules of this course, you’ll get important information and resources you can adapt for your own operation. For more information go to https://agrisk.umd.edu/grant-proposals/hiring-and-retaining-farm-employees
Viticulture and Grape Growing Workshops
New Grape Grower Workshop
The New Grape Grower Workshop is held yearly during the month of March or April at the Maryland Wine Grape Industry Annual Meeting, sponsored by the Maryland Grape Growers Association and Maryland Wineries Association in cooperation with the University of Maryland Extension.
This course offers a broad overview of commercial vineyard development from pre-plant planning into the third year including economics and marketing information, variety, clone, and rootstock choices, site selection and preparation, pre-plant decisions, equipment, and supply requirements. We will also cover the basics of ordering, planting, and tending the vines through the third year of growth, as well as best practices for training, canopy management, and pest management.
The workshop is classroom format with a lot of time for Q&A.This seminar is a good overview of what is involved with getting a commercial vineyard started in the Mid-Atlantic.
Archives (Webinar Recordings)
Central Maryland Vegetable Growers Virtual Meeting
Date: January 28, 2020 | Length: 4:04:35
Virtual Winter Vegetable Grower Meeting
Date: December 2, 2020 | Length: 4:14:46
Topics discussed: Legalities of Direct Farm Marketing Specialty Crops, Sarah Everhart, Legal Specialist,
University of Maryland; Maryland Food Safety Program Update, Angela Ferelli, Agent Associate & Carol Allen, Agent Associate, University of Maryland; Vegetable Weed Control Update; Kurt Vollmer, Weed Science Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; MDA Pesticide Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture; Odd Insects and Diseases of Vegetables, Jerry Brust, Vegetable IPM Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; Managing Salinity and pH in High tunnels, Neith little, Urban Educator & Andrew Ristvey, Alternative Crops Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; Vegetable Trials Update, Gordon Johnson, Vegetable Specialist, University of Delaware Extension; and MDA Nutrient Management Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture
Virtual Winter Fruit Grower Meeting
Date: December 10, 2020 | Thursday
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | Location: Virtual
Topics discussed: Spotted Wing Drosophila on Cranberries, Maggie Lewis, Entomology, Graduate Student University of Maryland; Insect Biological Control, Alan Leslie, Extension Educator University of Maryland Extension; Small Fruit Update, Ben Beale, Extension Educator University of Maryland Extension; MDA PAT Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture; Food Safety Update, Angela Ferelli, Agent Associate, Carol Allen, Agent Associate University of Maryland; Soil Health in High Tunnels, Neith little, Urban Educator, and Andrew Ristvey, Alternative Crops Specialist University of Maryland Extension; Fruit Tactics for the Coastal Plains, Dave Myers, Extension Educator University of Maryland Extension; and MDA Nutrient Management Update, Maryland department of Agriculture
Bay Area Virtual Fruit Meeting
Date: February 10, 2021 | Length: 4:23:36
Topics discussed: Legalities of Direct Farm Marketing Specialty Crops, Sarah Everhart, Legal Specialist,
University of Maryland; Insect Control Update, Kelly Hamby, Entomology Assistant Professor, University of Maryland; Fruit Weed Control Update, Kurt Vollmer, Weed Science Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; MDA PAT Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture; Apple Maturity and Harvest, Macarena Farcuh, Horticulture Assistant Professor, University of Maryland; Maryland Vineyard Industry Update, Joe Fiola, Viticulture & Small Fruit Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; Climate Change and the Orchard, Chris Walsh,, Horticulture Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland; MDA Nutrient Management Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture
Explore Meeting and Events
Agriculture Extension Winter Crop Production Meetings
Our local agricultural agents are getting ready and planning our Winter Production meetings later this summer. Get ready for an exciting lineup of events in the fall of 2024 and winter of 2025. Don't miss the opportunity to earn pesticide recertification and nutrient management credits at these meetings.