2024

 Week 6: Soil Health, Climate Change, and Best Conservation Farming Methods      During the 6th week of the Workforce Development Internship Program, our Weekly Discussion theme was soil health and the best management practices for conservation farming. A practice we do at the urban farm that helps the health of the land’s soil is the use of cover crops. In our pumpkin field, my mentor decided to use a cover crop strategy in the field where those crops were to be planted. Not only does that strategy help the health of the soil in that field, but the rye will act as a nice bed for the pumpkins to lay on as they grow. I think this is such an interesting strategy that is not only a great conservation strategy for soil health, but it benefits the pumpkins as they grow! The plan for the pumpkins is to host a pick-your-own pumpkin patch in the Fall, and the cushion that the rye cover crop made for the pumpkins will prevent any dented or dirty pumpkins.  Progress of th...

  This week we spoke about soil heath, and best management practices for conservation farming. Prompt: Soil health and climate change are hot topics in agriculture and the future generation of Agriculture Professionals are charged with promoting an agriculture that feeds a projected 9 billion people while protecting and regenerating our natural resources. Are you up to the task? How are you inspired to contribute?

“To be a successful farmer one must first know the nature of the soil.” — Xenophon, Oeconomicus, 400 B.C. Planting sweet corn in the crimped-down rye on 6/19 Soil health is “the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.” (USDA-NRCS) I believe what inspires me the most to want to contribute to soil health is creating a sustainable future for agriculture and the agricultural lands we harvest from. I am inspired to contribute through the use of no-till farming practices and maximizing soil coverage. No-till farming is instrumental in soil health by providing protection to the soil from crusting, erosion, high temperatures, and moisture loss. This is also great because soil structure remains intact and can improve each year. Good soil structure has adequate pores between aggregates which allows the exchange of gasses and water to permeate while still allowing moisture to be maintained for healthy plant growth. Soil coverag...

This is the home garden that we visited early in the week. This gardener grows a variety of food here such as tomatoes, kale, bell peppers, and more. You can see how suburban of an area this is and yet they have a flourishing garden.   This past week was pretty uneventful because it was the week of July 4th. On Monday, we completed a garden interview at a home garden in Baltimore City. The interview went well, and it led us to a neighbor’s garden who we have to reach out to. After that, the rest of my week was spent virtually doing data input. We have accumulated a large quantity of data from all of our interviews and garden mapping. Having so much data accumulation requires a lot of upkeep to make sure that we do not fall behind with our findings. At the end of the project, we will be handing over all of our data to our colleagues at the University of Rhode Island who will then publish the findings. Considering we are not publishing our results; it is especially important to make ...

  Hello from Western Maryland! Even with a short week to celebrate our Independence Day, I have got to do much up in Washington County! A big highlight was attending a community meeting group of farmers who, every month, choose one of the tier farms to go to and tour. They will ask each other questions, share progress, tips, solutions, ideas, and more! The wealth of knowledge, experience, and kindness that I found myself in was astounding. Both people who have been farming for generations, and children at about the age of 12 were in attendance and it was wonderful to see the future of agriculture.  Cultivating the future of agriculture is mandatory due to the increasing world demands. On the weekly call with the other interns, we talked a lot about soil health and planning for the inevitable future. Recently, up at WMREC, we have been in a drought which is severely impacting the ability of the plants to grow. These plants are crucial for the annual and perennial study bein...

  This short week was fairly eventful! On Tuesday, April and I made our way back to the University of Maryland for their One Health Careers Summit. This summit focused on career pathways, specifically environmental, animal, and human health. I had the opportunity to speak on a panel with a fellow UMD student about our majors and provide advice regarding college academics. I also learned a bit more about career opportunities in agriculture that I didn’t know about, such as a public health veterinarian who links human and animal health.  Here's a photo of me on the panel discussing UMD at the One Health Careers Summit. Photo was taken by April Barczewski. On Wednesday, I was able to help with lesson plans with our SNAP-Ed educator, Amelia Gerres. We utilized some of the base lesson plans about gardening and interconnected them to teach local camps about reusing plastic containers, gloves, and produce for gardening. Furthermore, we decided to try out one of the lessons on our o...

A picture of Ciera holding a tarantula with assistance, taken on 6/26 My experience during the Campus Residency and Research Tour Experience was wonderful. During the two days I was on campus I learned so much on how I can improve my leadership qualities and possible career options I could look into after graduation. I am thinking about leadership in my community. Something I find myself thinking about specifically in my community is gardening and ways I can beautify my campus while also benefiting the students. I know in order to accomplish this, I need to be the first to lead others towards this goal. I have learned a lot during the seminar with Antonio Silas specifically about the various types of leadership. During his seminar we were asked to write a small paragraph about how we want to lead and I wrote: I would like to assign specific tasks to each person on my team. I will be open to any ideas and suggestions that might make it more efficient to reach our goal. I believe communi...

                                                       Photo of Ciera with freshly picked blackberries, taken at the Wye Research Facility by Haley Sater on 6/18 T hroughout the duration of my internship I have had to use critical thinking to complete many tasks. During my fifth week I utilized critical thinking to organize a taste panel for blackberries. The steps I took to prepare included researching what type of taste panel I was conducting which was descriptive analysis. When I was developing the surveys that participants would be filling out during the panel I had to decide what questions would give me the best idea of what the blackberries tasted like to the participants. While harvesting blackberries I had to pick the best berries that would be ripe with no red to ensure that the participants were getting good berries. At the end of my week ...

 Last week's soil conservation seminar was very interesting and informative regarding new ways of saving nutrients and our soil. It emphasized even more than I already know about the importance of protecting the soil we have, so that we can continue to feed the world and ourselves. New technologies and further implementation of current technologies is needed to ensure we can continue to feed the growing population. New technologies like no till, cover crop use, and rotational crops have been a huge help to spread soil awareness and to save our soil. We need to continually adapt in order to keep up with and minimize the effect climate change has on agriculture. I do believe this generation and the next generation are up to the task to keep up with these challenges, especially with the advancement of technology that has already been created to help handle such challenges.  The couple days back to work after the holiday have been quite hot and sunny, but Dr. Vollmer and us intern...

Soil health paper and farm check and tour By. Solomon Hutchins                                                                                    Mon , July 8, 2024 Today I continued working on an information project on soil health importance and of “keeping our soil healthy is what keeps the foundation of productivity and sustainability to help farmers work with the land rather than against it reducing erosion maximizing water infiltration” .  Also covering the principles of soil health and why they are so important to incorporate when farming.  Soil armor is one of the principles its importance includes providing a proper habitat for organisms in the soil which is needed for soil health.   Soil cover protects soil from wind and water erosion, preventing the loss o...

I know soil health is important because it is what is needed to grow the food we eat. It was a reminder and opened my eyes to how important it is that we take care of our soil health. Something that has inspired me to help inform other farmers about the benefits of no-tilling. It was interesting hearing how some states that have really fertile soils continue to till their land when no-till would be better for their soil health. It adds decaying plant matter to the soil which promotes more beneficial organisms to live in it, creating healthier soil and decreasing the amount of erosion. Something that has inspired me is Regenerative Farming. It was really interesting to see how cow farmers are using the way that bison graze to build up their soils and create healthier pastures.  This is the soybean field that I checked with my mentor I was mainly in Talbot and Dorchester this week. When I was in Dorchester I mainly harvested the summer squash and a few collards to take to the food ba...

The campus visit was awesome! What inspired me the most is the leadership workshop conducted by Antonio Silas. It showed me how there are many different types of leadership and that not everyone leads the same way. There was emphasis on how there is no leadership strategy that is better than another, it just really depends on the context in which it is used. It inspired me to be confident in my leadership style and to start considering myself a leader. Way too often, people associate extroverted characteristics with leadership, but Antonio showed me how everyone is and can be a leader in some aspect of their lives. The workshops with both Antonio and Miles were great because they allowed me to begin a process of self reflection. I started to question my values, leadership style, and communication methods. The process of reflection left me with clarity on the type of leader and collaborator I wish to be. This is a photo of the workshop done by Antonio Silas. I also was inspired by the Z...

  Tell us about your Campus Residency and Research Tour Experience. What inspired you the most? How are you thinking about leadership? How has the leadership workshops with Antonio Silas (UME Director for Baltimore City office) and Myles Alexander (Maryland Leadership Education and Development Program) changed, informed, or enhanced your ideas about leadership? What is one thing you can practice during your internship to support you in being the leader you aspire to be?