Farmer Saved Seed: What is Legal—What is Not

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Calendar P.2

Commercial Poultry Grower Discussion Group

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SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans

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2017 Census of Agriculture P.3

Blog: Maryland’s New Antibiotics in Livestock Law

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Agronomic Research Updates P.5

Visit from Death Valley Iconic 20 Mule Team

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2017-2018 Cover Crop Program Sign-Up

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Pesticide Container Recycling Dates 2017

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Noxious Weed Control- Cecil County

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Volume 7, Issue 6 June 2017

AGLINE

DAIRY INFORMATION

http://extension.psu.edu/animals/dairy

LIVESTOCK INFORMATION http://extension.psu.edu/

POULTRY INFORMATION https://extension.umd.edu/poultry

GRAIN INFORMATION

http://extension.umd.edu/grain

FOREST STEWARDSHIP EDUCATION

https://extension.umd.edu/news/newsletters/branching-out

WATERSHED PROTECTION/RESTORATION https://extension.umd.edu/news/newsletters/

headwaters

Newsletter—Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne’s Counties

Source: Agronomy News, Volume 8, Issue 2, May 5, 2017

Volume 7, Issue 6 Page 2

JUNE 2017

01 - Registration Opens for Fall General Forestry Course.

For more information visit http://extension.umd.edu/forestry-

course. 02 - 2017 Eastern Shore Pesticide Recertification Confer-

ence, WREC, Queenstown, MD. For information Ginny

Rosenkranz, rosnkrnz@umd.edu, 410-749-6141. For more

information and to register visit https://www.eventbrite.com/

e/2017-eastern-shore-procrastinators-pesticide-recertification-

conference-tickets-32928562216. 03-04 - Cecil County 4-H Breeder’s Fair, Cecil County

Fairgrounds, Fair Hill, MD. For more information visit https://

extension.umd.edu/cecil-county/4-h-youth/cecil-county-

breeders-fair. 06 - Timely Ag Issues/Grain Marketing, 7:30 a.m., QA Ex-

tension Office, Centreville, MD, coffee, donuts.

14 - WIA Wednesday Webinar— How to Create Social

Media Memes, and Other Photo Apps. For information and

to register visit http://www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/

webinars.

16 - Commercial Poultry Grower Discussion Group, 11:00

a.m.-2:00 p.m., Centreville, MD. Details P3

18 - Father’s Day

19 - Commercial Poultry Grower Discussion Group, 11:00

a.m.-2:00 p.m., Georgetown, DE. Details P3 19 –20 - Fundamentals of Nutrient Management, 9:00 a.m.-

4:00 p.m., Maryland Department of Agriculture, Annapolis,

MD. Details soon.

21 - Summer Begins

21 - Cover Crop Program 2017-2018 Sign-Up Begins. For

information visit www.mda.maryland.gov or your local Soil

Conservation District Office. Details P5 28 - WIA Wednesday Webinar—Can I Use This Picture?

Media Law. For information and to register visit http://

www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/webinars.

JULY 2017

02 - Iconic 20 Mule Team from Death Valley, California

Visit, Noon-4:00 p.m., Queen Anne’s County 4-H Park, Cen-

treville, MD. Details P5

04 - Independence Day

12 - WIA Wednesday Webinar— Email Newsletters, Tips

and Tools. For information and to register visit http://

www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/webinars.

19 - Vegetable Plant and Pest Diagnostics Workshop, 9:30

a.m.-4:30 p.m., UME-Cecil County, Elkton, MD. For infor-

mation and to register visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/

vegetable-plant-and-pest-diagnostics-cecil-registration-

30362377689.

20-22 - Kent County Fair, Chester town, MD. For more

information visit https://www.kentcountyfair.org/.

21-29 - Cecil County Fair, Fair Hill, MD. For more infor -

mation visit http://www.cecilcountyfair.org/.

26 - WIA Wednesday Webinar— Hiring Farm Employ-

ees—Process and Recommendations. For information and

to register visit http://www.extension.umd.edu/womeninag/

webinars.

27 - Poultry Mortality Composting Course, 8:00 a.m.-3:00

p.m., Wye Research & Education Center, Queenstown, MD.

For more information and to register contact Sheila Oscar at

410-742-1178 or soscar@umd.edu.

28 - Maryland Commodity Classic, Queen Anne’s County

4H Park, Centreville, MD. Details soon.

CALENDAR

2nd & 4th Wednesday of each Month

Cost is FREE

All are invited to participate

Upcoming Webinars

Archived Webinars

https://extension.umd.edu/

womeninag

Volume 7, Issue 6 Page 3

Commercial Poultry Grower Discussion Group

The University of Maryland Extension and the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension are hosting an opportunity for growers to come together to discuss important topics. These groups will share thoughts, ideas, and education on poultry production. There will be three groups established on Delmarva. The first meetings will be held 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. with a light lunch. The groups will make the decision on where they meet and the times they would like to meet. The group is open to new and existing poultry farmers on Delmarva focusing on the five areas of poultry farm risk management. The five areas of risk management include: production, legal, human, marketing, and finan-cial. With today’s environment, it is important to learn about the many aspects of poultry farm management. Topics of discussion for this meeting: (1) What we can do to help your poultry operation and (2) Summer management.

Friday, June 16, 2017 Tilghman Terrace Meeting Room, 104 Tilghman Avenue

Centreville, MD Monday, June 19, 2017

Carvel Research & Education Center, 16483 County Seat Hwy. Georgetown, DE

This workshop is open to all. Please register by June 14 by calling Sheila Oscar at 410-742-8788. For more information, call or email Jon Moyle, jmoyle@umd.edu, 410-742-1178, Georgie Cartanza, 302-632-3173, cartanz@udel.edu or Jenny Rhodes, jrhodes@umd.edu, 410-758-0166.

What is the Census of Agriculture?

The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Even small plots of land - whether rural or urban - growing fruit, vegetables or some food ani-mals count if $1,000 or more of such products were raised and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the Census year.

The Census of Agriculture, taken only once every five years, looks at

land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practic-

es, income and expenditures. For America’s farmers and ranchers,

the Census of Agriculture is their voice, their future, and their oppor-

tunity.

Why is the Census of Agriculture important?

The Census of Agriculture provides the only source of uniform, com-

prehensive and impartial agricultural data for every county in the

nation. Through the Census of Agriculture, producers can show the

nation the value and importance of agriculture, and they can help

influence the decisions that will shape the future of American agri-

culture for years to come. By responding to the Census of Agricul-

ture, producers are helping themselves, their communities, and all

of U.S. agriculture.

Click the button below to be added to the 2017 mailing list or if you have a survey code, to complete the online census.

SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans Available in Maryland

Following Secretary of Agriculture Disaster Declaration for Excessive Rain

May 24, 2017 The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquacul-ture and private nonprofit organizations located in Caroline, Dorches-ter, Kent, Queen Annes, Wicomico and Worcester counties in Mary-land as a result of the excessive rain from Sept. 29, 2016 through Oct. 10, 2016. Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan pro-gram is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disas-ter loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers. Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can be down-loaded from the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than Jan. 17, 2018.

Volume 7, Issue 6 Page 4

M A R Y L A N D ' S N E W A N T I B I O T I C S I N L I V E S T O C K L A W : W H A T D O E S I T M E A N F O R Y O U R F A R M ?

M a y 1 6 , 2 0 1 7 S a r a h E v e r h a r t

During the recent Maryland General Assembly session, the “Keeping Antibiotics Effective Act of 2017” (the Antibiotics Act) was passed into law. The controversial Act was amended substantially before its passage. Proponents of the Antibiotics Act want the use of antibiotics in cattle, swine, and poultry controlled to prevent the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in humans. Yet the need for the Antibiotics Act baffled some, given the federal Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) rule went into effect on January 1, 2017.

The VFD rule requires veterinary supervision for feed-use antibiotic drugs and prohibits using antibiotic drugs for growth promotion or feed efficiency. For more information on the VFD rule, check out this recorded webinar hosted by ALEI featur-ing state and federal experts. Previous to the VFD rule, feed-use antibiotic drugs were available over-the-counter. Currently, all drug companies have changed the use conditions of their antibiotic feed drugs by removing “feed efficiency and growth promotion” from the label. Critics of the VFD rule say there is a loophole in the federal system which allows producers to use the drugs in the same manner as before the VFD rule (in continuous low doses otherwise known as sub-therapeutic use) and simply say they are now using them to prevent disease rather than promote growth. This purported loophole was eliminat-ed in the passage of a California law in October 2015 prohibiting the sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics in food producing animals, for both growth promotion and disease prevention purposes.

The recently passed Antibiotics Act mirrors the VFD rule by prohibiting the administration of an antibiotic (referred to in the law as a medically important antimicrobial drug) to cattle, swine, or poultry solely for the purpose of (1) promoting weight gain or (2) improving feed efficiency. An antibiotic may be administered if a veterinarian feels it is necessary to treat disease or infection, control the spread of disease or infection, or prepare the animal for surgery or medical procedure. Both the law and the VFD rule also allow a veterinarian to prescribe the use of an antibiotic to address an elevated risk of contraction of a particular disease or infection. Like the California law, the Antibiotics Act starting on or after January 1, 2018, will also pro-hibit producers from routinely feeding cattle, swine and poultry an antibiotic at low doses for disease prevention. Violations of the law may result in an administrative penalty not exceeding $2,000. The Antibiotics Act does not apply to small opera-tions, specifically on a farm operation selling fewer than 200 cattle, 200 swine, or 60,000 birds per year. However, the feder-al VFD rule does not have any exemptions for small farm operations.

As originally proposed, the Antibiotics Act would have required producers to submit all copies of Veterinary Feed Directives and prescriptions for antibiotics to the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA). These records would have been collated and then made public. This provision was removed from the final version of the Antibiotics Act and replaced with a require-ment for MDA to review publicly available Maryland-specific data from sources such as the Center Disease Control and Pre-vention, the Food and Drug Administration, and national trade associations, and make it available to the Maryland General Assembly.

Maryland’s Antibiotics Act is mostly complementary of the federal VFD rule, but does make Maryland the second state in the nation, after California, to take the further step to strengthen the federal rule by expressly prohibiting the routine, sub-therapeutic dosing of cattle, swine, or poultry with antibiotics for disease prevention.

Maryland farmers with questions about the use of antibiotics on livestock should email animalhealth.mda@maryland.gov or call 410-841-5810.

Featured Blog

The Maryland Risk Management Blog, is provided by the Maryland Crop Insurance Project and the University of Mary-

land's Agriculture Law Education Initiative. This blog provides readers with information on legal and risk management issues

important to Maryland agriculture, upcoming events, and new materials that may interest readers. To subscribe to the blog,

visit http://www.aglaw.umd.edu/. If you have issues or thoughts on topics Ashley, Sarah, Wele, and Paul should address, click

here to send them.

Volume 7, Issue 6 Page 5

Source: Agronomy News, Volume 8, Issue 2, May 5, 2017

Sign Up Period: 6/21/17 through 7/17/17

Changes to the program:

-Removing the Commodity option -Extend Aerial deadline to 10/7/17 -Mixes seeding rates are now either 50/50 for cereal/radish or cereal/legume or 50/25/25 for cereal/legume/radish -Mixes will be eligible for planting incentives for species plated by 10/1/17 -Forage Radish and Canola/Rape planting deadline extended to 10/1/17 -Ryegrass planting deadline extended to 10/15/17 -Spring spot checks will be used to verify kill down of cover crop -Seed sample submission deadline of 10/1/17 to guarantee results before final planting dead-lines -New seed sample bags must be used, all old bags must be destroyed

Sign up at your local Soil

Conservation District Office.

Iconic 20 Mule Team from Death Valley, California

Visiting Queen Anne's County 4H Park

July 2, 2017 Noon—4:00 p.m.

The last time they were on the east coast was 100 years ago. This FREE event will offer riding demonstrations showcasing the versatility and talent of the mule.

The University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources programs are open to all and will not discriminate against anyone because of race, age, sex, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, ancestry, or national origin, marital status, genetic information, or political affiliation, or gender identity and expression. The Uni-versity of Maryland is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Equal Access Programs. La Universidad de Maryland es una institución con Igualdad de Oportunidades de Empleo y con Igualdad de Acceso a Programas.

Contact your local UME Agriculture Educator:

Cecil County ~ Doris Behnke at 410-996-5280 or dbehnke@umd.edu

Kent County ~ Nate Richards at 410-778-1661 or nrichard@umd.edu

Queen Anne’s County ~ Jennifer Rhodes at 410-758-0166 or jrhodes@umd.edu

NONPROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE PD

PERMIT NO 16

ELKTON, MD

University of Maryland Extension

Cecil County

County Administration Building

200 Chesapeake Blvd., Suite 1500

Elkton, MD 21921

State law requires anyone owning or managing land within the State of Maryland, including public entities, to eradicate or control the noxious weeds on that land by using ap-proved practices including mowing, cultivating, or treating with an ap-proved herbicide. As a service to County residents, the Cecil County Department of Public Works (DPW), in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Agricul-ture, operates a weed control pro-gram to assist farmers, developers, right-of-way owners, federal, state, and local agencies and other land-owners in controlling noxious weeds and certain other invasive species such as phragmites. If you need assistance with the con-trol of noxious and inva-sive weeds on your Property, C.R.P. ground or C.R.E.P. ground, hedge-rows, fence lines or pastures call Cecil County Weed Control , 410-996-6270.