Ag reps tour 3 Carroll Co. farms to get up-close look
American Farm
TANEYTOWN, Md. — Getting out of the office and putting a real face on farming was the purpose of a Sept. 25 tour for employees with the Maryland field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).
The group visited three farms in Carroll County, Md., and was organized by Karen Hobson and Joanne Weant, who are enumerators with the Maryland field office of NASS. Enumerators go out to farms and perform on-farm surveys for the agency.
The first two stops on the tour were Cowlick Gardens, a retail greenhouse operation owned by Hobson and her husband, Lou, and Weant-Haven Farm, a dairy and grain operation that is run by Weant and her husband, Todd, along with her in-laws.
The third and final stop on the tour was Feeser Genetics and Carousel Angus, owned by Frank and Julie Feeser. Feeser Genetics is a purebred and commercial swine operation in Taneytown, while Carousel Angus focuses on Black Angus cattle. At each farm, tour-goers got an up-close look at the day-to-day inner workings and how producers cope with challenges.
Barbara Rater, director of the NASS Maryland field office, said the tour became a reality when some of her fellow staff members asked if she would be willing to organize a farm tour. Because some of them have a limited agricultural background, her staff wanted to get out of the office to see farms and meet producers.
“Given the success of this tour, we want to plan another tour,” she said. “It creates a synergy … a nice sense of team.”
Rater added that it was great to get her staff out of the office and into an actual field so that they could see what farmers do, and put faces on the statistics they deal with every day.
In the beginning, the tour was going to include only a few staff members, but its size kept growing.“We only invited people from the office,” Hobson said. “It snowballed from there. The more the merrier.”The number of visitors on the tour kept growing because so many staff members expressed an interest in getting an idea of what is behind the numbers they collect. During the first stop at Cowlick Gardens, tour-goers received an overview of agriculture in Carroll County from Bryan Butler, Extension agent for the county and mid-Maryland Tree Fruit agent.
“I love the people,” he said. “Agriculture is a wonderful opportunity to meet the most interesting people. You get to develop long-term relationships.”
Carroll County is a great example of diversity in the agricultural industry, Butler said, in addition to having a variety of soils, a strong history of preserving ag lands and unique people who aren’t afraid to take a risk. But, even with the county’s positive attitude toward the industry, agriculture still faces challenges.
“It’s great to preserve the land, but you have to preserve the people on the land,” he said. “Our cheap food policy makes it tough for producers. Dairy producers are losing so much money. They are eternal optimists — they truly believe it will get better. It will, but not before half of them are in the ground.
“Nutrient management regulations are so tight in Maryland,” Butler added. “It’s hard to compete in an environment with newer and tighter regulations that come out of nowhere. I don’t know how much longer the dairy industry can hold on. If we lose our animals, we’re going to lose our ag base.”
Tour-goers said they enjoyed their experience in Carroll County, and it was helpful to see how producers are coping with the challenges the industry faces.
“It’s cool to see the stuff we deal with on a daily basis … and its effect on a personal level,” said Preston Asay, an intern with NASDA. “We do a lot with the industry. It’s cool to see what these guys are going through.”
Lynne Huff, an information technology specialist with the NASS Maryland/Delaware field office, said that being out in the field is a good learning experience and helps NASS employees get to know producers. “I love doing this stuff,” she said. “I love to meet people."
