We provide educational resources, conduct trainings, and workshops, provide technical assistance in the field and answer questions to help farmers in our community.
Feel free to contact Jeff Semler, Agriculture Educator for any questions, comments, or programming ideas you may have that are related to agriculture.
The Maryland Dairy Industry is home to over 450 dairy farms and nearly 50,000 dairy cows. It is a $1.1 billion business with nearly 4300 individuals employed in the dairy section. The Dairy Extension team is available to help the state’s dairy industry through practical research, seminars, resources, and workshops.
The beef extension team is dedicated to providing materials and programs that meet the needs of our diverse beef industry. Our goal is to help Maryland beef producers reach their goals, regardless of herd size or experience level. Our programming efforts are focused on areas related to beef cattle health and nutrition management, pasture management, and forage production. Additional resources are also available through our Ag Marketing program that helps guide producers who are interested in selling their own beef.
Looking to learn more about horse care and management? Want to improve your farm's profitability? Have a question about your horse's health, or need help with your equine business? We offer seminars, resources, and consultation on horse-related topics.
A private applicator is a person who uses a restricted use pesticide in the production of an agricultural commodity on their own or leased property, such as dairy farms, orchards, nurseries, turf farms and greenhouses. In order to become certified as a private applicator, the individual must be at least 16 years of age and pass a written closed book certification examination administered by MDA with a score of 70% or higher. The examination consists of multiple choice questions on core, regulations and label interpretation. Subject matter contained in the examination is based on the Core training manual that is available from the county offices of the University of Maryland Extension (UME). The examination dates are scheduled by the county offices of the UME. The UME provides pesticide education to Maryland applicators. The county extension educators offer optional training sessions to assist applicators in preparing for the examination. Upon completion of the certification exam, the person will be notified, in 2 to 3 weeks, of the test results and after passing the exam, the person will be instructed to submit $7 to MDA for the certificate. The private applicator certificate runs from January 1 through December 31 and is valid for three years.
Our goal is to help Maryland’s poultry industry and growers both large and small with general practical knowledge about poultry production practices in order to continue to develop, maintain, and operate economically viable and environmentally responsible poultry operations in the state.
Jeff Semler, Agriculture Educator
Washington County
7303 Sharpsburg Pike
Boonsboro, Maryland 21713
301-791-1304
