AEM Hosts Demo Day on Local Farm
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Last Friday, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) hosted their fifth annual Demo Day at Chip Bowling’s farm in Newburg, MD. This was the second time AEM’s Demo Day was held on the family farm of Chip Bowling in Newburg, Maryland. Bowling is a former NCGA president and current chairman of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance.
Participants included policymakers and other governmental agency representatives from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and policy staff from the House Committee on Agriculture and the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
This year’s Demo Day featured in-field and aerial demonstrations of modern conservation tillage, precision planting, spraying and harvesting equipment, as well as drones and the latest in seed and fertilizer innovations that play a critical role in agriculture’s long history of increasing production while shrinking its environmental footprint. Frederick County farmer Belinda Burrier was a featured speaker at the event, sharing how they use technology to advance sustainability on their farm.
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Department Announces Sign-Up Period for Cover Crop Program
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The annual sign-up period for the Maryland Department of Agriculture’s cover crop program will take place June 21 – July 17 at soil conservation district offices statewide. This popular grant program provides farmers with cost-share assistance to offset seed, labor, and equipment costs associated with planting fall cover crops.
This year’s program includes two new incentives for farmers. The first is the Extended Season option which pays $15/acre to farmers who agree to terminate their cover crops after May 1. There is also a $10/acre incentive for farmers who hire an airplane or helicopter to aerial seed cover crops into standing corn by September 1.
The department’s program provides grants to farmers who plant a variety of small grains, brassicas, and forage radish on their fields following the fall harvest. To help create diversity, eligible cover crop species may be mixed with radish and legumes including clover, Austrian winter peas and hairy vetch using a variety of two and three-species mixes.
Eligible farmers can receive up to $90/acre in cost-share grants to plant traditional cover crops in their fields this fall. This includes a $45/acre base rate and up to an additional $45/acre in incentives. A field inspection is required to qualify for the Extended Season incentive. Maximum payment for aerial seeding with incentives is $85/acre.
Contact your local soil conservation district for more information.
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Maryland Agriculture Secretary Urges Farmers to Participate in USDA June Surveys
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Maryland Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder is urging farmers across the state to participate in upcoming agricultural surveys by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). NASS will be conducting two major mid-year surveys, the June Agricultural Survey and the June Area Survey. The agency will contact nearly 1,000 producers across Maryland to determine crop acreage and stock levels as of June 1, 2019.
“Two of the most important NASS surveys are conducted in June and their results have wide-reaching impact for farmers, businesses, lawmakers, the USDA, and many others,” said Secretary Bartenfelder. “We recognize that this is a hectic time for farmers, but the information they provide helps agriculture remain strong and viable across the country and in Maryland. I urge all Maryland farmers to participate in these surveys and thank them for their cooperation.”
NASS gathers the data for the June Agriculture Survey online, by mail, over the phone, or during in-person interviews. For the June Area Survey, agency representatives visit select tracts of land and interview the operators of any farm or ranch on that land. Growers are asked to provide information on crop acreage—including biotech crops—as well as grain stocks. Additionally, the survey collects data on livestock inventory, cash rents, land values, and value of sales.
NASS will compile and analyze the survey information and publish the results in a series of USDA reports, including the annual
Acreage
and quarterly
Grain Stocks
reports, both to be released on June 28. Survey data also contributes to NASS’s annual
Farms and Land in Farms
and
Land Values
reports, various livestock reports including
Cattle, Sheep and Goats
and
Hogs and Pigs
, and USDA’s monthly
World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates
.
For more information on NASS surveys and reports, call the NASS Maryland Field Office at 1-800-675-0295.
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Road Closure - Worcester/Somerset Counties
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The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is beginning a project to replace the MD 364 (Dividing Creek Road) Bridge over Dividing Creek at the Somerset/Worcester county line. To Expedite the project, MDOT SHA will close and detour MD 364 on Thursday, June 13.
MDOT SHA’s contractor, Marine Technologies of Baltimore, will close and detour MD 364 for ten weeks. Motorists will be detoured using US 13 (Ocean Highway), US 113 (Worcester Highway), MD 756 (Old Snow Hill Road) and MD 12 (Public Landing Road). Approximately 1,050 vehicles per day use this section of MD 364 each day. Motorists should add extra travel time during the temporary closure and detour. Other than local deliveries, commercial vehicle drivers are urged to avoid MD 364 as there is limited room to turn at the bridge approach.
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Extension Agent Spreads Facts on Glyphosate
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With glyphosate making headlines in the news again this week, we share with you the following piece featured in the Frederick News Post from Matt Morris, Frederick County Extension Agent:
“Recently, someone I know had a bag of wood chips for their grill and right on the bag it said, “This product is known to the State of California to cause cancer.” It’s a good thing we live in Maryland and not California or else we’d have been in trouble! In all seriousness, that bag of wood chips reminded me of a similar situation that is all over the radio and TV and that is the glyphosate/cancer relationship. I am by no means a health professional, but I do know a little bit about the reason this has come to be national news so I will try to outline that below.
First let me give some background on glyphosate. Glyphosate, which is the main ingredient in the herbicide RoundUp® (and countless generic versions) was first commercialized in the 1970s as a broad-spectrum herbicide, meaning it works on both grasses and broadleaf plants. The appeal was that it worked on many weeds, but had no residual activity in the soil as it was immediately decomposed in the soil into carbon dioxide, ammonia, and phosphoric acid by soil bacteria. It was one of the products that paved the way for no-till crop production. Yet, it did not gain widespread popularity until the advent of crops that were tolerant of its spray. I personally think this is when the disdain for glyphosate began as it was associated with ‘GMO’ crops.”
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NAWG Submits Comments to EPA’s Review of a Petition to Modify the Tolerance and Product Labels for Glyphosate with Regard to Oats
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On June 05, 2019, the National Association of Wheat Growers submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s request for comments on a petition filed by several special interest groups to reduce the tolerance of glyphosate in or on oats and requiring glyphosate-containing product labels to explicitly prohibit preharvest use on oats (Docket Number EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-0066).
NAWG President and Lavon, TX farmer Ben Scholz made the following statement:
“While NAWG’s mission does not include representing oat producers, its members believe it’s important to provide comments on this Docket as it impacts EPA’s review of pesticides. In its submission, NAWG urged the EPA to reject this petition in its entirety. The issues raised in this petition have been considered under the current pesticide review and labeling, and the requested action by the Agency is not necessary.
Further, EPA’s work to review and regulate the chemistry of pesticides should not be dictated by special interest groups who have an alternative agenda but rather should continue to be based on science and facts, as the EPA currently operates. NAWG supports the U.S. Government’s regulatory process of pesticides because it is based on thorough scientific review, has resulted in crop protection tools that are safe for grower use, and farm worker use, and food produced from these tools is safe for human consumption, including consumption by children.”
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Dreaming of Getting Away? NCGA Makes Summer Vacations Reality with Member Discounts
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Are you dreaming of getting away this summer? Members of the National Corn Growers Association can save on travel by using exclusive discounts. Through partnerships with Association Motor Club Marketing, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Cabela’s and the Worldwide Hotel Discount Program, NCGA offers members valuable savings on emergency service, car rentals, outdoor adventure gear and hotel bookings whether they travel across the country or even too many locations around the world.
“NCGA works hard to increase opportunities for farmers in the marketplace, but we also strive to offer a wide array of benefits to our members,” said NCGA Engaging Members Committee Chair Brandon Hunnicutt. “Summer vacations often build memories that last a lifetime, and we want to provide discounts that make these magical moments more affordable.”
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