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Western Maryland Research & Education Center - UME Home
The Western Maryland Research and Education Center (WMREC) consists of a single 491 acre facility located in Washington County. Housed at this facility are faculty and staff of the University of Maryland Extension (UME) and Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) - both components of the University of Maryland, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR).
WMREC serves as the administrative home for the UME West Region Director, Mary Ellen Waltemire. Extension specialists representing the areas of agricultural marketing, farm management, natural resources, small ruminants (sheep and goats), viticulture & small fruit, and nutrient management conduct educational outreach programs for their respective fields. In addition, WMREC is home to the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center (MREDC), a web-based (www.mredc.umd.edu) one-stop-shop for the latest and most successful business development innovations and support for Maryland's agriculture and natural resources enterprises.
Frank Allnutt is the WMREC Center Director and also MAES Environmental Safety Coordinator who serves as liaison between the University's Department of Environmental Safety and the MAES facilities.
Research projects conducted at the facility support the programs for faculty from the Departments of Entomology, Natural Resource Sciences & Landscape Architecture, and University of Maryland Extension. Agronomic projects include small grain variety improvement trials, corn hybrid variety trials, perennial weed control, cropping systems, and nutrient management. Research and extension projects for both tree fruit (apples) and small fruit (grapes, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, etc.) are an integral component of the facility's activities. Integrated pest management techniques are researched by faculty in the Department of Entomology. Thirteen acres of pasture are being utilized for sheep and goat grazing projects.
In addition, the facility has some cooperative research projects with agricultural industry representatives, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) scientists, and also hosts tours led by area UME Educators.
University of Maryland
Western Maryland Research & Education Center
18330 Keedysville Road
Keedysville, Maryland 21756-1104
Phone: 301.432.2767
Fax: 301.432.4089
For more information, contact Cindy Mason
Last updated: 10/26/2009
2010 Starting a Small Farm
The Baltimore County office of The University of Maryland Extension is partnering with Maryland Agricultural Resource Council to offer a workshop series to learn about starting and operating a successful, intensive small farm. - posted Jan 31, 2010
Montgomery County 4-H Public Speaking Contest
Montgomery County 4-H Public Speaking Contest will be held on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8:00 a.m. at the Montgomery County 4-H Office. - posted Jan 29, 2010
Maryland 4-H Entrepreneurship Workforce Readiness Training
A workshop for city/county youth adult teams and will be held on Saturday, March 27 at the Maryland 4-H Center from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Teams will engage in hands-on entrepreneurship and workforce readiness activities from the 4-H curriculum. Participating teams can apply for a mini-grant to implement EWR programs locally (camps, career days, livestock projects, workshops, clubs, new small business ventures). - posted Jan 29, 2010
