Publications

How well are you prepared for a natural disaster? There is no possible way to be prepared for every possible disaster. However, many things can be prepared in advance to help cope with a natural disaster. Proper planning before a disaster occurs can decrease the severity of the impact and can help a poultry producer return to normal operating conditions quickly and safely.

The construction process of new poultry houses can be lengthy and tedious. This fact sheet is a tool to help potential poultry growers complete all the requirements needed to construct poultry houses in Maryland. Please read this packet carefully.

Wood is a plentiful and accessible fuel for many Marylanders. Wood burns relatively clean and comes from a renewable resource —the rural or urban forest. Coal and oil supplies are limited, are not renewable, and the cost of these fuels continue to increase. Heating costs consume a significant percentage of earnings of low‐ to moderate‐income families. Heating with fuelwood can greatly reduce utility bills for these households.

Strawberries are available in grocery stores 365 days a year. This is largely due to the fact that berries are shipped from different locations across the United States and around the world. However, in the eastern United States, fresh, locally-grown strawberries are only available at farmers markets, roadside stands, and grocery stores for several weeks during the late spring and early summer. This limited availability occurs mostly because the commercial strawberry production in the East is derived from June-bearing varieties, which have a brief production season.

Cleaning Maryland’s waterways one rain garden at a time. This new and improved “how-to” manual discusses the benefits of incorporating multiple small-scale practices into a rain garden design.

A Marketing Decision Tool and Guide for Grass-fed Beef is a resource guide that will assist grass-fed beef producers in formulating profitable marketing strategies. It is a decision tool to assist individual producers in making marketing decisions about what to produce; where/how/in what venue(s) outlets to market their product; and practical risk management strategies. This publication will help beef producers evaluate their individual operation on six factors that are barriers to entering a market - finding a niche, determining products and prices, meeting regulatory constraints, promoting and distributing prouducts, selling product, and managing risks. The guide is written in sections with decision making worksheets that can help producers identify their “best fit” grass-fed beef marketing opportunities. Individual producers can use the articles and resources that follow the decision worksheets to address possible barriers or lost opportunities within specific marketing venues. The information in this booklet is for educational use. It was written by Ginger S. Myers, Marketing Specialist, University of Maryland Extension and Director of the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center. Publication of this workbook was made possible through support from the Jorgensen Foundation and the University of Maryland’s Department of Animal and Avian Sciences.

If you are in the market for a horse, take your time and do your homework. Determine your goals for both you and your horse and develop a prioritized list of requirements for your horse.  The list may include breed, gender, height, disposition, conformation, movement, previous use, or breeding potential.  This publication provides a helpful list of goals and priorities to fill in before you begin shopping for your new horse. 

This 13-page guide is intended to assist farmers, growers, and their advisors in understanding the regulations affecting the processing and marketing of meat and poultry products in Maryland. This guide also contains information on labeling, marketing, risk management, and regulatory exemptions. By Ginger S. Myers, Director, Maryland Enterprise Development Center and Extension Specialist, University of Maryland Extension. Reviewers: Diane Hirsh, University of Connecticut Extension,

Niche Marketing - Out of the Box but in the Black fact sheet will help you explore the Niche Market and how to go about increasing your food dollar and return per unit sold. By Ginger S. Myers, Marketing Specialist, University of Maryland Extension and Director of the Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center.

Enterprise budgets provide invaluable information regarding individual enterprises on the farm. This tool enables the farm manager to make decisions regarding enterprises and plan for the coming production year. The enterprise budget uses farm revenue, variable cost, fixed cost and net income to provide a clear picture of the financial health of each farm enterprise. The 2008 Maryland enterprise budgets were developed using average yields and estimated input cost based upon producer and farm supplier data. The figures presented are averages and vary greatly from one farm to the other. It is therefore crucial to input actual farm data to complete enterprise budgets for your farm.