GARRETT COUNTY AG NEWSLETTER
University of Maryland will hold the Western Maryland Agronomy Meeting March 11th at the Pleasant Valley Community Building starting from 9 am to noon. Hayden Schug Agriculture and Food Systems Educator in Charles County will present topics on Scouting Basics and IPM Planning for Field Crops and Making Sense of Efficacy Trials. A full agenda can be found HERE.
Registration is required by contacting the Extension Office at 301-334-6960. Registration deadline is March 7, 2026. Lite refreshments will be provided.
Pesticide Recertification Credits will be offered for WV and MD.
This course is designed for people in Maryland who are considering or in the beginning stages of starting a farm as a business. This 10-week course will be offered in an online format. The class will meet on Tuesday evenings, from 7 to 8:30 pm, from February 10 through April 14, 2026, online. Students will complete at-your-own pace homework on the course website on campus.extension.org Topics covered will include business planning marketing crop production livestock husbandry soil health integrated pest management food safety regulations and certifications acquiring land and zoning specialty crops organic production urban agriculture More detail about what will be covered can be found in the course syllabus: https://bit.ly/45M4bHj Course registration is $60 plus eventbrite fees. Two people from the same farm/family may attend the course under one registration.
Learn more and register here: https://go.umd.edu/BFSC2026
The Mountains-to-Bay Grazing Alliance is pleased to present the Regional Grazing Conference. Scheduled for February 18, 2026 at the Washington County AG Education Center, 7313 Sharpsburg Pike, Boonsboro, MD. Lunch will be provided. There will be a registration fee of $25.00.
Featured speaker, Allen Williams, is a 6th-generation family farmer and founding partner of Understanding Ag, LLC, and Regenified, LLC. He has consulted with thousands of farmers and ranchers in the U.S. and 45+ other countries, on operations ranging from a few acres to over 2 million acres.
For more details and to register click HERE.
If you need special accommodation, please contact the Washington County Agricultural Education Center by February 6, at 301-791-1304.
Nutrient management planning for the 2026 growing season is upon us. This fall, all producers who requested a 2025 nutrient management plan should have received a letter and subsequent data collection information outlining what is needed for their 2026 plan update. Please complete the required information and return it to Andrea as quickly as possible. Any other producer in need of a plan who has not already contacted our office should call 301-334-6960 or email auphold@umd.edu as soon as possible. If soil and/or manure samples are needed for your plan update, please take advantage of any break in the winter weather to obtain those samples instead of waiting until spring. Sampling materials are available at the extension office for you to send the samples yourself. Let us know if we can answer any questions and we look forward to working with you.
The Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides compensation to eligible livestock producers who have suffered grazing losses for covered livestock and who are also producers of grazed forage crop acreage of native and improved pasture land with permanent vegetative cover or acreage planted specifically for grazing. Grazing losses must occur on land physically located in a county experiencing a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county. Garrett County producers are eligible for a payment in 2025 due to the dry weather throughout the summer. Please call the FSA office in Oakland at 301-501-5857 for more information and to sign up for the program. Registration deadline is March 1, 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) reauthorized the Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMC) program for calendar years 2026 through 2031 and also outlines several important changes, including establishing new production history.
The DMC program is a voluntary program that provides dairy operations with risk management coverage that will pay producers when the difference (the margin) between the national price of milk and the average cost of feed falls below a certain level selected by the program participants.
This program runs through February 26, 2026. For additional information contact the FSA office at 301-501-5857. Additional information can be found at the link below.
Garrett Soil Conservation District is selling 5' to 7' bareroot fruit trees and fruit bushes again this year to raise funds for outreach. Trees starting at $21, bushes $10. Trees and bushes are customized to Garrett County's unique growing conditions. Many heirlooms. Also Persimmon and Paw-Paw seedlings. For more information please go to https://garrettsoilconservation.org.
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