Hello, Harford County! It seems that winter has arrived fast and early this year. The unseasonably cold weather during mid-November graced my homestead with an inch of snow and a frozen-solid pond. My husband and I are working (in the few daylight hours we have) to prepare for another frigid, snowy winter. If you keep livestock, you’ve probably noticed them preparing for winter as well by growing out their long heavy coats and racking up the feed bill. Most of us have the luxury of living in a climate-controlled house where our heating system maintains a constant inside temperature. Those of us in charge of household bill pay recognize that our heating bills increase when the outside temperature decreases; it takes more energy to keep the inside temperature constant when the outside temperature drops. Animal bodies work the same way. Livestock are able to maintain their body temperature even in cold weather, but it comes at the cost of increased energy.

Animals get their energy from food, so the colder it is, the more feed you need to provide. It’s preferable to provide additional forage, rather than additional concentrate, as forages cause release of more heat during the digestive process. Just as important as feed, however, is water. Livestock must have access to clean, unfrozen water at

Women in Ag “Supper

Seminars”

2

To Blanket or Not to

Blanket?

4

Fall Nutrient

Management Planning

5

Do Farmers Pay Tax

on CRP Payments?

6

Don’t Wash Your

Chicken!

8

Home and Garden

Phone Service

Cancelled

9

University of

Maryland Extension

Harford County Office

P.O. Box 663

2335 Rock Spring Road

Forest Hill, MD 21050

(410) 638-3255

M—F 8:00 a.m—4:30 p.m.

Extension.umd.edu/harford-county

facebook.com/HarfordAg

Sara BhaduriHauck

Ag Extension Educator

sbh@umd.edu

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

all times. Although animals may be less inclined to drink when the weather (and the water) is very cold, their water requirements are still quite high: 3 gallons per day for sheep and 14 gallons per day for cattle. Water is essential for almost all bodily processes, especially digestion. Water contributes to the formation of saliva (4 gallons per day in horses), which regulates stomach pH. Water helps digesta move freely though the tract, preventing impactions and colic. It is an important ingredient in the fermentation process, and it’s required to excrete waste products out of the body. Thus, increased feed intake should also equate to increased water intake. Animals can take in water by eating snow or licking ice, but this will not meet the animal’s daily water requirement and will further lower body temperature. When temperatures are below freezing, use tank heaters to keep water from freezing. (Check that tank heaters are working properly as a stray electric current running through the water can reduce intake.) If tank heaters aren’t an option for you, provide fresh, unfrozen water to livestock multiple times per day.

The Extension Office will be closed on

December 25 in observance of Christmas

and January 1 to celebrate the new year.

Continued on next page...

February 4, 2015 – “Speaking to the Public on ‘Hot Topics’ in Ag” Jennie Schmidt, MS, Registered Dietician, and farmer (thefoodiefarmer.blogspot.com): Public perception of agriculture is shaping consumer preference and spending and even legislation. When customers ask you about hot topics like GMOs, organic versus conventional, or pollution from farms, how will you respond? Jennie will prepare you with the tools to effectively and professionally communicate with and relate to customers searching for answers.

March 4, 2015 – “Legal Documents Every Farmer Should Have” Rajiv Goel, Esquire, Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law: Farm businesses are built from a foundation of hard work and dedication, and farmers should protect what they’ve established by having certain legal documents on file. If you were injured or killed unexpectedly, what would happen to your business, your land, and your children? Raj will explain what legal documents every farmer should have and will help you make decisions and gather information you will need before you visit with your lawyer. Come ready with your questions! Catering will be provided by Broom’s Bloom.

March 25, 2015 – “Tools for Family Communication that Actually Works” Jim Kilgalen, Director and Senior Clinician, Kilgalen and Associates: Farming families face unique challenges when it comes to communication: speaking freely about business issues is difficult when your boss is your parent or your hired help is your child. Do you have thoughts about the farm that you keep to yourself because you’re afraid how your family will react? Jim will dissect the complex relationship of the farm family and provide you with practical strategies to successfully discuss business while preserving the family dynamic.

April 22 , 2015 – “Farming Liability and YOU” Ashley Newhall, Agriculture Legal Specialist, University of Maryland Extension: Farmers face liability risk at every step along the production and marketing cycle; being educated about these risks is the first step toward reducing them. If your produce makes someone sick, if a car traveling down your road hits an escaped cow, or if your neighbor reports pesticides from your farm killed her flowers – are you protected? Ashley will discuss some common areas of liability on the farm and steps you can take to reduce your risk of liability. Catering will be provided by the Laurrapin Grille.

2015 Harford Women in Ag “Supper Seminars”

Insulating your waterers can help to prevent freezing. Place waterers out of direct wind. If you use automatic waterers, caulk the base and seal the access door with waterproof tape. You may also consider applying external insulation over the waterer. When the weather turns cold, we head inside to stand by the fire or put on an extra sweater. Livestock, on the other hand, just eat more. (Wouldn’t it be fun if we could stay warm just by eating more?) Providing

additional feed is important, but if you want your animals to consume that feed you need to ensure that they’re consuming adequate water, too. One final tip: animals usually prefer to drink water that is between 40 and 65 degrees F, so use a thermometer to check the temperature of the water and set the heater accordingly if you can. Sincerely,

After offering the Annie’s Project and Managing For Today and Tomorrow classes in Harford County for the past three years, we are switching gears for 2015 season to a more flexible format. Sara BhaduriHauck and Nicole Fiorellino will host a series of Supper Seminars for women in agriculture on Wednesdays this winter. Each seminar will begin at 6:00pm with a hot meal, followed by a guest speaker, and concluding with a round table discussion that will wrap up at

8:30pm. All sessions will be held at the Harford County Extension Office in Forest Hill. Register for all or just for the sessions that interest you! Registration is open to all women with a passion for agriculture, but each session is limited to the first 20 participants. The registration fee of $10 includes dinner. Register by calling 410-638-3255 at least a week in advance of each session. For questions, contact Sara at sbh@umd.edu.

Annie’s Project 2015 Classes Announced

UMD Program Shares National Award for Work in Afghanistan

By Sara Gavin, Communications Coordinator, UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources

Faculty members from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland were part of a team honored in November with a prestigious award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for their involvement in a project aimed at improving the lives of women in Afghanistan.

James Hanson, Ph.D., an Extension specialist and professor in the Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, leads the University of Maryland’s Women in Agriculture (WIA) program. The WIA project prepares female extension educators and leaders in Afghanistan to empower poor or vulnerable women living in Kabul by teaching them how to provide food for their own families. It focuses on

developing skills and practices like vegetable gardening, small-scale poultry production, composting to improve soil quality, postharvest handling, food preservation, preparation of nutritious meals, and marketing agricultural products; all to increase food security for women living in some of the poorest areas of this war-torn country. WIA is part of the Afghanistan Agricultural Extension Project, a collaborative effort with three other land-grant universities led by the University of California, Davis to assist Afghanistan in strengthening its agricultural extension system and stabilizing its agriculture-based economy.

Hanson, along with Rebecca Ramsing, food security and nutrition advisor for WIA, and Sophia Wilcox, Deputy Chief of Party for the WIA project, were all named in the group of recipients for the 2014 USDA Secretary’s Honor Award in the category of increasing global food security. Hanson, Ramsing, and Wilcox joined their counterparts from the other three universities to be recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on November 6. “These awards are the most prestigious Departmental awards presented by the Secretary of Agriculture and recognize exceptional leadership, contributions, or public service by individuals or groups who support the mission and goals of USDA,” said Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy, Director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

Annie’s Project focuses on the many aspects of farm management and is designed to empower women in overall farm decision making and to build local networks throughout the state. The target audience is women with a passion for business, agriculture and involvement in the farm operation. Topics for the sessions cover the five areas of risk management – production, marketing, financial, legal risk, and human resources. This course is open to anyone interested in farm management practices. In 2015, Annie’s Project will be held in Baltimore, Cecil, and several other counties in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The cost of the course including meals and materials is $75. For more information, class sites or to register visit the webpage at www.extension.umd.edu/annies-project or call 410-758-0166. Please register by January as space is limited.

The chilly months from late fall to early spring are generally a time of slowed activity for horse and rider, but attentiveness to horse health and management is just as crucial during the cold season. As an equine veterinarian, I’m often asked about blanketing during the cold months. Primary considerations in horse blanketing are hair coat and environmental temperature. Here is some information that will assist you in making the right blanketing decision for your horse. First, it’s useful to know that horses have an innate ability to withstand cold and wind, with the important caveat that they need shelter or a windbreak, as well as proper cold-season feed and nutrition. Blankets tend to compress a coat's layers, which compromises their insulating properties. Horses that do not live in extremely cold environments – meaning

routinely colder than 10°F – will do well without a blanket, provided they are either stalled during the coldest temperatures or have access to a protective shelter. Feed and nutrition are also factors tied to blanketing, because a horse generates body heat through digestive activity. To help your horse live comfortably in cold weather, make sure calories are adequate; most important, provide sufficient forage, typically in the form of hay. As the horse digests forage, gut activity warms the body. This function, along with the natural insulating abilities of the winter coat, allows your horse to live comfortably in an environment that is not excessively cold, assuming shelter is available. The decision to blanket your horse comes with pros and cons. A positive aspect of blanketing is that it helps maintain a short-haired show coat, thus decreasing your body clipping time if you are showing during the colder months. Performance horses may need clipping and blanketing to control winter hair growth, so they can exercise without getting too sweaty and so that sweat dries easily. Consider a partial rather than a full clip for the benefits of easily cleaned sweaty areas and heavy hair coat in other areas. Blankets also are used in icy and snowy weather to keep your outside horse clean and dry, ready for you to ride. For horses living in very cold places – again, places where the temperature is often colder than 10°F – blankets can provide the added warmth needed, especially when protective shelter is not available. Additionally, when a horse is moved from a warm climate to a much cooler climate, a blanket can help the horse become acclimated to the new environment. Here are a few blanketing tips to follow:

Only apply blankets to clean, dry horses. Use the appropriate blanket for the

appropriate use. A turnout blanket is for use during turnout and is designed to be waterproof. Horses that live in the elements wearing blankets should wear waterproof and breathable blankets. A blanket that is not

Save the Date: MD Small Ruminant Expo

To Blanket or Not to Blanket?

The Maryland Small Ruminant Expo will be held Saturday, February 28, 2015, at the Frederick County 4-H Camp and

Activities Center in Frederick, Maryland. More details will be published in this newsletter as they become available.

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By Dr. Luke Bass, DVM, MS, Colorado State University

Fall Nutrient Management Planning

Fall harvest seems to be quickly passing and cover crops are growing despite Maryland’s quirky weather. A few folks have been able to get their soil sampling done and are requesting spring 2015 Nutrient Management Plans; most require more time. For me, receiving soil sample analysis is exciting. I always want to guess what the results will be for my fields, and there is almost always a surprise. This year the surprise was a field that hasn’t been limed for six years still doesn’t need any lime! Perhaps this is because we haven’t been fertilizing or perhaps soil sampling techniques were not adequate. I am not concerned enough to take another sample right away, but I will not wait three years before re-sampling. Taking samples early allows you the opportunity to question the lab and/or retake samples before proceeding with a formal Nutrient Management Plan based on a questionable analysis. Thanksgiving is a good timeline marker for a due date to have soil and manure sampling completed. Soil sampling is quicker, easier, and more reliable in soil that is not frozen. Manure is just horrible to sample when frozen. Last year we had some very questionable results especially with the frozen liquid manure. So sampling now is far better than sampling in the winter. All Nutrient Management Advisors welcome clients that come in early for planning to ensure they will have their recommendations before spring planting time.

Another reason to soil sample early is that fields with soils high in phosphorus will need PSI (Phosphorus Site Index) and UM-PMT (UM-Phosphorus Management Tool) evaluations completed prior to Nutrient Management Planning involving applying any phosphorus-containing products, including manures. These field studies are generally done in between crops when the field is bare. So, even though it is getting cold outside, this is a perfect time to do these studies. Don’t forget that fields high in phosphorus will also require an additional lab test. The operator will need to request the Degree Phosphorus Saturation (DPS) or Al (aluminum) and Fe (iron) reported as part of the lab analysis. This is a separate test which must be requested when filling out the soil sample submittal form and may involve an additional charge. Each lab handles the charges for this additional testing differently and may call it by a different name. Our newest “Comparison of Soil Test Labs” clearly details how to order this test and the charges involved. This list of labs is available at the office and also online. (To have a direct link e-mailed to you, call our office.) As you collect the needed information to update your Nutrient Management Plan, call your advisor and arrange a meeting to be sure you have your plan in hand before spring. If you have questions concerning Nutrient Management Planning, call Tricia Hoopes at 410-638-3255.

By Patricia Hoopes, Harford County Nutrient Management Advisor

waterproof will quickly become saturated, making your horse cold – the opposite of the desired effect with blanket use.

If you have decided to blanket, use the blanket weight that is most appropriate for your horse's needs and the weather conditions. If it's 40 degrees, your horse probably only needs a lightweight blanket. If it's 10 degrees below zero, he might prefer a heavyweight blanket.

Sweating in a blanket on a hot day can be just as problematic as wearing a non-waterproof blanket in wet weather.

Remove your horse's blanket and groom on

a regular basis. Properly cleaning blankets is recommended for longevity of the product, but remember that most are line-dried, so either purchase a quick-drying blanket or have a backup. When cleaning or rinsing your blanket, check all the fasteners and attachments to make sure they are secured tightly to the blanket. A blanket that slips can cause your horse to spook, and may lead to injury. Unless you are showing your horse, blanketing is a personal decision. The blanket will give your horse added warmth, but in return will decrease your horse's natural winter hair growth.

The Economic Impact Study on the Phosphorus Management Tool (PMT) was released on November 7. The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) commissioned the study to better understand the economic impacts the PMT will have on farmers and on Maryland’s economy. MDA provided a copy of the report to the General Assembly’s House and Senate Budget Committees; the Senate Education, Health, Environmental Affairs Committee; as well as the House Environmental Matters Committee for review and a 45-day comment period. The study assessed all available economic and financial data and information related to the proposed PMT implementation, including the potential costs, potential benefits, and other related decision-points, from the perspective of all interested stakeholders. While there is no one single figure representing the economic impact, the study considers specific variables and various levels resulting in a range of both costs and benefits. MDA has set up an email address (PMTinfo.mda@maryland.gov) for anyone who has questions about the report. The report is available online at www.mda.maryland.gov/documents/pmt-analysis.pdf. A “Frequently Asked Questions” document is also available online at www.mda.maryland.gov/documents/pmtfaqs.pdf.

Phosphorus Management Tool Impact Study Released

Source: Maryland Department of Agriculture press release (abridged)

Do Non-Farmers Pay Self-Employment Taxes on CRP Payments?

Photo: Marion Soil and Water Conservation District

By Paul Goeringer, Agriculture Law Specialist, University of MD Extension Reprinted from the Maryland Risk Management Blog

Maryland currently has over 65,000 acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a federal land conservation program managed by Farm Service Agency. Landowners enroll environmentally-sensitive land and remove the land from agricultural production in exchange for a yearly rental payment. The issue has been how to treat that yearly rental payment from CRP on tax returns as either self-employment tax or not. Prior to 2003, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) took the position that CRP rental payments paid to a person who did not materially participate in the farm would not be subject to self-employment tax. If you did materially participate, then the rental payment would be subject to self-employment tax. Recently, IRS had taken the opinion in a proposed rule (never finalized) that all CRP rental payments regardless of material participation should be considered subject to self-employment tax. IRS’s view was recently rejected by a federal court of appeals. In Morehouse v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, the 8th Court of Appeals found that CRP rental payments made to non-farmers should not be

subject to self-employment tax. In Morehouse, the plaintiff was not an agricultural producer and had inherited some farmland in South Dakota. Morehouse decided to enroll much of this farmland in the CRP program. The issue came in 2006 and 2007 when Morehouse filed and did not report the CRP rental payments as self-employment income, and IRS began to send Morehouse notices of delinquency. Morehouse brought an action to review the IRS’s determination with the Tax Court and the Tax Court agreed with IRS. Morehouse appealed to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 8th Circuit disagreed with the IRS, finding that IRS had a long history of viewing similar conservation program payments made to non-participating landowners as not taxable as self-employment income. The court embraced this longstanding tradition, finding that Morehouse would not be subject to self-employment tax on CRP rental payments. The 8th Circuit Court also distinguished this case from a prior decision from the 6th Circuit. In that prior decision, the 6th Circuit found that an active

Ag Law Education Initiative Reaches Out to Industry Leaders

agricultural producer with land enrolled in CRP would be subject to self-employment taxes on the CRP rental payments, based on the reasoning that the CRP contract required producers to complete activities similar to their active farming operations. The 8th Circuit found extending this reasoning to non-agricultural producers problematic. So why is this ruling important? Although the ruling is limited to the 8th Circuit (Arkansas, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the two Dakotas), it potentially has implications reaching to Maryland (3rd Circuit). Similar to Morehouse, we potentially have landowners with inherited farmland who enrolled all or a portion of the land in the CRP program and are otherwise not currently active in agriculture. We also have high participation in the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), which provides an annual rental payment in return for adoption of conservation practices to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff into tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. The Morehouse decision provides some guidance for the 3rd Circuit to decide how to handle CRP and

CREP rental payments for non-farmers for tax purposes. So how does IRS move forward from this ruling? Well, IRS could finalize the proposed rule and issue a final rule, taking the rejected position in Morehouse (which would give IRS a better leg to stand in future litigation involving this issue). IRS could ask for additional review by the 8th Circuit. Or, the IRS could be left to enforce their position in the other circuits and wait for additional courts to reject this position. IRS does have some options, and we will have to wait and see how they proceed. If you are interested in learning more about this topic, please see McEowen, Roger, Eighth Circuit Reverses – CRP Rents Paid to a Non-Farmer Are Not Subject to Self-Employment Tax, Iowa State University Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation.

This article should not be construed as legal advice. For a link to the aforementioned article and more information and additional ag law posts, visit www.aglaw.umd.

The Maryland agricultural community is facing a diverse and complex set of legal challenges, but experts with the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) now have a better understanding of priority problems and can begin to address them head-on. The ALEI recently published the results of a legal needs assessment for the state’s agricultural sector – the first of its kind in Maryland. The needs assessment is based on 21 structured interviews conducted with leaders from the agricultural industry and state government. University of Maryland Extension faculty members working with agricultural producers were also surveyed for their input on a variety of legal needs. To date, Illinois is the only other state to complete a comparable survey on the subject. The ALEI is a collaboration under University of Maryland: MPowering the State and combines the expertise and efforts of three distinguished Maryland institutions: the Francis King Carey School of Law at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), and the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore (UMES). “This publication gave us the first set of priorities for ALEI to begin to address in helping the agricultural community of Maryland prosper, said Dan Kugler,

assistant dean for special programs at UMD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. “It also showed us that the best way to deliver information is through face-to-face workshops and fact sheets.” The ALEI was created after the Maryland General Assembly gave the University System of Maryland a direct assignment in 2011: preserve Maryland’s family farms by helping their owners address the complicated legal issues associated with agricultural estates and trusts, regulatory compliance, and other agricultural law issues. “The biggest finding to me is that we learned Maryland agriculture as a whole has very diverse legal needs,” said Paul Goeringer, Extension legal specialist with UMD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and co-author of the report. “There are some blanket statewide concerns but when we started breaking it down by region, we saw issues related to production contracts ranking near the top on the Eastern Shore and, as you go west, questions about land use and leasing rank near the top.” The report is now available online. [If you are interested in viewing the report, e-mail sbh@umd.edu) and you will be e-mailed a direct link to the report.]

By Sara Gavin, Communications Coordinator, UMD College of Ag and Natural Resources (abridged)

Beekeeping 101 Classes Offered

As the holiday season approaches, University of Maryland Extension educator Shauna Henley wants people to think twice before washing their holiday turkeys. “I always recommend that people shouldn’t wash their turkey, even though many instructions say to do so,” said Henley, Ph.D., who joined UME in January as a family and consumer sciences educator for Baltimore County. “The problem with washing/rinsing raw [poultry] is that the bacteria is going to be on the surface and not internalized in muscle tissues, so the force of the water hitting the poultry surface can cause bacterial spray up to three feet around the area it was washed.” Henley became well-versed in poultry-rinsing rituals while completing her doctoral degree at Drexel

University. She worked with nine Philadelphia focus groups from different ethnic backgrounds (three African American, three Hispanic, and three Asian) to see how they acquired their poultry, how they prepared it, and how they cleaned up and packaged leftovers. Her findings were then organized into her dissertation entitled “Don’t Wash Your Chicken! Results of an Interdisciplinary Approach to Reduce Incidence of

Infectious Foodborne Diseases”. Henley’s campaign received national exposure and was featured in news outlets including Nightly News with Brian Williams, ABC’s The Chew, The TODAY Show, NPR, ESPN Pardon the Interruption, and BuzzFeed. “The government hasn’t recommended washing epoultry as early as 2005, so ‘Don’t Wash Your Chicken!’ was just a creative way to bring old information to new light,” Henley said. The bacteria typically found on raw poultry, Salmonella spp. And Campylobacter jejuni, can be sprayed onto other foods and utensils surrounding the

Young Farmer Survey Seeking Respondents

Don’t Wash Your Chicken (or Turkey)!

The Maryland Young Farmers Advisory Board is conducting a survey of individuals 45 years old and younger who are involved in agriculture. The purpose of the survey is to help the Maryland Department of Agriculture, Maryland Agriculture Commission, commodity groups, and agri-businesses to better assist young farmers. The results of the survey will be summarized and published in mid-February. If you are eligible, please complete the survey online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/MdYoungFarmer . Each individual who is affiliated with the farm should complete their own survey.

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By Rachael Keeney

University of Maryland Extension Apiculturist Mike Embrey will offer a beginning beekeeping class at the Wye Research and Education Center in Queenstown, MD this winter. The opening session will be held on Saturday, January 24, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. – noon. There will be a total of seven classes, the first five of which will be held every other Saturday until April. The two final sessions will be held approximately the second week of August and the third week of September. Participants will learn about bees in general, about beekeeping equipment, how and where to set up and establish a hive, how to use a smoker, how to hive a package of bees, about bee pests and diseases, and how to winterize your bees. Registration is $110, which includes the textbook “The Beekeeper’s Handbook, Third Edition” by Diana Sammataro. (If you have your own textbook, the fee will be $80.) To register, contact Debby Dant at 410-827-8056x115 or ddant@umd.edu. Registration deadline is January 10. For questions or more details , contact Mike Embrey at 410-827-8056x148 or membrey@umd.edu.

UME Home and Garden Phone Service Cancelled

Maryland Farm and Harvest Season 2

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to all citizens and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color,

sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, national origin, marital status, genetic information, political affiliation, and gender identity or expression. The information given herein is supplied with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by University of Maryland Extension is implied.

Jeff Myers

Area Extension Director

Harford, Baltimore,

and Carroll Counties

Sara Meagher BhaduriHauck

Faculty Extension Assistant

Agriculture and

Natural Resources

sbh@umd.edu Extension.umd.edu/Harford-county

facebook.com/HarfordAg

Photo: Univ. Of DE

Season two has already started airing on MPT! To help Marylanders learn more about agriculture – the state’s number one industry – Maryland Public Television (MPT) in partnership with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has created Maryland Farm and Harvest, a multimedia series that puts a human face on farming. Hosted by Joanne Clendining, Maryland Farm and Harvest takes viewers around the state to see and experience what it’s like to run a 21st century farm – from technological advances and conservation challenges to age-old complications such as weather hardships. The show also captures the number one reason why

planters and growers dedicate themselves to it all: their simple love of farming! Be sure to tune in Tuesdays at 7pm (repeats Thursdays at 11:30pm and Sundays at 6:00 am). Check the schedule of topics for more information on who and where the team will be at www.mpt.org/programs/farm. (Source: “The Buzz,” Maryland Ag Education Network newsletter)

Keeping up with changes in clientele needs and teaching tools is a hallmark of Extension work. UME faculty and staff face this challenge every day - how do we prioritize client needs and UME resources? The Home and Garden Information Center has gone through many changes since its creation in 1990. Recorded phone tips, racks and racks of printed publications, and snail mail newsletters are some of the information delivery methods we’ve used, and discontinued, over the years. As society increasingly goes digital, so have our clients. Call volume to our 800-horticultural hotline has consistently decreased by 10-15% each year. We are making the difficult decision to end the 800 phone service as of December 22, 2014. This will allow our horticulture consultants, known for their professionalism, expertise, and practical answers, to focus exclusively on the “Ask an Expert” service, website content, and media outreach. After December 22, please send questions through “Ask an Expert” found on most UME pages. An e-mail answer from one of our horticulture consultants will be delivered within 48 hours.

area where the turkey is being washed; and because as few as ten Salmonella cells can cause illness (particularly in pregnant women, children zero to five years old, adults over 65, and those who are immunocompromised). Washing the turkey is a tradition that food safety experts are not so thankful for. “I think that our mind set is to be clean, so we wash our hands, wash our fruits and vegetables, and the train of thought for many is to wash [poultry]…even though from a food safety standpoint it isn’t necessary,” Henley said.

Now as an FCS educator for UME, Henley is helping to update curriculum on food preservation and food safety for youth and adults. However, her “Don’t Wash Your Chicken!” message is still coming in handy, particularly at this time of year. “During the holidays when you’re sharing time and food with family and friends, it’s really important to practice safe food handling,” Henley said. “The best thing I can do as an Extension educator is to provide scientific information and allow people to make informed decisions.”