Raven Herron

 Hello from Washington County!

As the summer comes to a close, it is wonderful to look back on all the experiences and opportunities I have had to learn and grow. Primarily, I have loved learning about agriculture in Western Maryland and its differences from just a couple of counties away. 

Talking about cultural competencies this week typically comes in handy when thrown into a new and unfamiliar environment. Nevertheless, utilizing cultural competencies can be beneficial for daily life as well. Throughout this internship, I have been exposed to the Mormon and Amish communities more than I had before. It has been a pleasure to learn a little bit about their way of life and talk with a few of them. Moreso, I am blown away at the generational knowledge and progressional development that is infused in these families’ lives. Everything from businesses in the dairy barn-rotary industry, pumping fertilized water over a mien to irrigate crops, and sharing their general wealth of farming knowledge and expertise that they have gained through the years. 

I am extremely grateful to have been given this opportunity, and more so, been provided the mentors of Mr. Jeff Semler and Dr. Amanda Grev. Their personalities, knowledge base, experience, and overall kindness are what made this summer truly memorable and significant. To anyone wondering about pursuing the University of Maryland Workforce Development Internship in the coming years, it would be a dishonor for me to say not to apply. Not for the trainings, but the Ag Agents, specialists, fellow interns, and knowledge that I have met or gained on the way is truly a blessing to have been incorporated into my summer and my life. 

To close out, here are some of my favorite pictures from the summer that you haven’t seen!

These two images are from when all 12 interns met up on the University of Maryland Campus and did some laboratory tours and additional leadership training!

This is a Jersey calf is from a farm that worked with Jeff Semler and Fabiana Cardoso.

These cows are getting milked on a rotary parlor.

A look inside of a typically large dairy barn. Its lower ceilings on the right are attributed to the barn being built in the 1980s.

A dairy cow leaning on a rotary brush that scratches her.

The animals on the perennial side of the research project at WMREC.

A grasshopper jumped on me while I was putting up a fence in the annual field. 

This is a selfie of Mark Townsend(Frederick County’s Ag Agent), Frank Allnutt(retired research station manager), Nathan Glenn(Howard County’s Ag Agent), Cambria Snyder(fellow Intern out of Garrett County), and me at an animal weigh day.

This is one of our lambs who can easily identify as “Speckles”

This is me taking a fecal sample out of one of the cattle to send off to be tested.

This is one of the cows in the annual group on a nice day.