University of Maryland Extension and partners are excited to be bringing back both the Maryland Grazing School and Advanced Grazing Workshop this fall and invite grazers and livestock owners to attend one of these upcoming events!

The Maryland Grazing School will be held over two days on September 29-30, 2022 at Rocklands Farm in Poolesville, MD from 8 AM to 5 PM each day. Designed with producer interests in mind, this 2-day grazing school will offer a more in-depth education on pasture and grazing management. The course features multiple hands-on exercises to provide participants with opportunities to work with grazing tools and fencing materials. Topics covered will include forage selection, pasture assessment, grazing management, pasture allocation, fencing and watering options, extending the grazing season, and more! Enrollment is limited to 30 people to keep the group small and allow for more interaction and networking opportunities. For full details and registration information, please visit https://go.umd.edu/grazingschool.

The Advanced Grazing Workshop feat. Ranching for Profit will be held over two days on October 20-21, 2022 at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center in Keedysville, MD from 9 AM to 5 PM each day. This advanced grazing workshop is designed for producers looking to transform their operation into a profitable business with less work and stress. Workshop attendees will dive deeper into the principles behind farm economics and increasing farm profitability, giving them the tools and insights they need to improve their business. The workshop will be taught by Dave Pratt, one of the experts on the Ranching for Profit team and will feature a small group approach with team and class discussions, case studies, videos, and application to participants’ own situation. For full details and registration information, please visit https://go.umd.edu/rfpworkshop.

These events are brought to you by University of Maryland Extension, the Maryland-Delaware Forage Council, Maryland Grazers Network, NE SARE, and American Farmland Trust. Thank you to our event partners!

If you have questions or need assistance please contact your local county Extension office or Amanda Grev at [email protected] or 301-432-2767 x339. If you need reasonable accommodation to participate in any event or activity please contact us at least 2 weeks prior to the event. Hope to see you there!

The University of Maryland Extension programs are open to any person 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.

If you’ve considered turning your farm’s tomatoes or fruit into a canned product, or turning your grandmother’s favorite bread recipe into a small business idea, University of Maryland Extension has a newly updated virtual workshop developed to teach the intricacies of starting a food business under Maryland’s on-farm home processing license and cottage foods.

The Maryland Food Ventures workshop (formerly known as Food For Profit) is currently offered in a virtual format (in-person dates forthcoming), and is free for a limited time only (till Mid-September 2022). The newly designed course was created in conjunction with the Maryland Department of Health, and provides foundational information for farmers (small farms and ranchers, specialty crop producers and value-added producers) under the On-Farm Home Processing License, and home cooks and bakers interested in selling their homemade products to the public, under the Cottage Food Business. The self-paced workshop will help both groups determine if their homemade jam, or other value-added product, will make a sustainable business idea.

“There’s some important things that have been updated in terms of Maryland regulations,” said Dr. Shauna Henley, senior agent in the Family and Consumer Sciences program, and current lead on the U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) grant to re-examine, optimize, and improve the current modules for both online and in-person classes. “In October of 2019, cottage foods were allowed to be sold in certain retail establishments, and this October (2022), the cap on sales for cottage foods is rising to $50,000 from $25,000 per year. These are significant changes for these small businesses, although not for on-farm home processing.”

In addition to the increase in the yearly cap on sales for cottage foods, the U.S. will also include sesame as the ninth major food allergen that will need to be declared, like tree nuts (e.g. almonds) or the other eight major food allergens. “This program gives us the platform to reiterate the regulations, as well as bring awareness to the new food allergen,” Henley said.

Collaborating with Shannon Dill, principal agriculture and food systems agent (Talbot county), and Neith Little, agriculture and food systems agent (Baltimore City), to create the new curriculum, the program not only highlights state regulations, but also tackles the business development side of starting a cottage food or on-farm home processing business from your home or farm kitchen.

“It’s intended to be a beginning platform to introduce people to all of these moving pieces,” said Henley. “We really want people to think of the risks as it applies to food safety, costs, business planning, and labeling – even that can be more than people expect.”

While starting an on-farm or cottage food business comes with challenges and risks, the Maryland Food Ventures workshop provides an introduction designed to help people develop their idea into a sustainable business plan. The workshop also addresses those who have been running an on-farm or cottage food business and are ready to take the next step.

“You have to be invested if it’s something you want to pursue,” Henley said. “An on-farm or cottage food business can give you a taste of whether your idea can be successful on a larger scale in the future.”

The free introductory period to access the workshops only lasts for a limited time, after which, the course registration is $15. Learn more and register at https://umeagfs.teachable.com/p/maryland-food-ventures-cottage-onfarm. For more food safety resources from farm-to-table visit https://extension.umd.edu/resource/food-safety-farm-table-resources-marylanders.