Cai Diggs

This is a picture I took of crates used to cage oysters at an oyster farm on the eastern shore.

 Internship Update: 

My internship with University of Maryland Extension is going extremely well! I am learning a lot about not only agriculture, but other professional skills such as communication, teamwork, and public speaking. Since my last post, I have done a lot with research and extension. I have been preparing to start a research project with Dr. Izursa on black soldier fly larvae as aquaculture feed. I have been compiling a list of materials and making a step by step plan on the research I will be engaging in. I am excited to get started with this experiment soon. I have attended an agricultural conference in Ocean City, Maryland. The highlight of the trip were the farm tours. Brigit, Nick, and I went to many different farms to gain a further understanding of the agricultural processes taking place. A notable one was the oyster farm, which cultivates and sells oysters. 

The process typically begins with the collection of oyster larvae, which are usually collected from the wild or cultivated in hatcheries. These larvae are then dispersed on hard surfaces underwater. The oysters are raised in these controlled environments, which allows them to grow without the threats present in the wild, like unruly environmental conditions or predation. Oyster farming is a sustainable food source and has proven to be beneficial to the environment.

Communication:

One way I observed communication was between farmers and extension agents, Neith was tasked with explaining the terms of a business agreement  with Chippy, a farmer in Baltimore city. The communication was verbal, and it proved to be effective because Neith left the farm achieving her goal of farmer Chippy having a general understanding of the agreement. The other workers on the farm also understood what steps should be taken before they sign the agreement. It was cool to see how knowledgeable extension agents are and how they have a broad understanding of agriculture. 

Communication is important in agriculture for many reasons. One reason is that extension agents need to be able to effectively communicate with farmers. Better agricultural methods and production result from farmers sharing findings, innovations and inventions through effective communication. Addition, to see products, understand consumer expectations, and get reasonable prices, farmers must communicate with consumers, buyers, and other producers. Also if there are any problems in farming like outbreaks, diseases, and pests it is important that this information is being spread to other farmers.

This is a picture of the park that I visited at the end of the farm tour to network and eat dinner.