Press Release
Agricultural service providers, farmers, and landowners interested in learning about agricultural conservation leasing are invited to a series of free workshops being held across the state in December and January.
The workshop series is being hosted jointly by the Agriculture Law Education Initiative (ALEI) at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and the Harry R. Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology, Inc. The workshops are supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number ENE18-151.
When it comes to leased farmland, it can be challenging for parties to implement conservation practices. Common challenges to using conservation practices on leased land include insufficient communication between landowners and farmers, lack of knowledge of practices and funding opportunities and a lack of stability in the leasing relationship.
To address these issues, ALEI and the Hughes Center teamed up to create the Agricultural Conservation Leasing Guide, available for download on agresearch.umd.edu/agroecol and umaglaw.org. The Leasing Guide will be featured at the Agricultural Conservation Leasing Workshop series which will kick off with an informational webinar in November, followed by workshops in December and January. The goal of the Agricultural Conservation Leasing Workshop Series is to equip agricultural service providers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to educate farmers and landowners on overcoming the challenges of using conservation practices on leased land.
“The Agricultural Conservation Leasing Guide is a timely and valuable tool to help farmers and landowners overcome barriers in implementing conservation practices to expand the good work that farmers have done to support cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay,” Hughes Center Executive Director Dr. Suzanne Dorsey said.
The Agricultural Conservation Leasing Workshop series is not only a useful training experience for agricultural service providers but will be very valuable for farmers and landowners who interested in installing conservation practices on leased farmland.
Workshop dates and information are as follows. Visit agresearch.umd.edu/agroecol for registration information. For questions or more information, contact Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology Assistant Director Nancy Nunn (nnunn@umd.edu) or Communications Coordinator Josh Bollinger (joshboll@umd.edu) at 410-827-8056.
Informational Webinar – November 15, 2018
Lower Shore Workshop – December 10, 2018 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore, Salisbury MD 21804
Mid-Shore Workshop – January 8, 2019 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Chesapeake College, Wye Mills MD 21679
Southern Maryland Workshop – January 17, 2019 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Charles County Soil Conservation District, Waldorf MD 20601
Western Maryland Workshop – January 23, 2019 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Frederick County Extension Office, Frederick MD 21702
Central Maryland Workshop – January 28, 2019 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Baltimore County AG Center, Cockeysville MD 21030