Blueberry Blackberry Twilight Tour at Wye REC
Date: June 24, 2026 | Wednesday
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. | Cost: This event is free, but registration is requested.
Location: Wye Research and Education Center, 124 Wye Narrows Dr. Queenstown, MD 21658
Description: Join University of Maryland Extension educators and specialists at the Wye Research & Education Center to learn about current blueberry and blackberry research and production practices. Participants will have the opportunity to taste fruit from our cultivar trials and compare varieties that may be suitable for commercial production or home plantings. Dr. Kelly Hamby will discuss insect pest management strategies, including spotted wing drosophila management, and Dr. Mengjun Hu will provide updates on disease prevention and management in blueberries and blackberries. The berry tasting will begin at 5:00 p.m., followed by the tour and presentations from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
Register to attend the Blueberry and Blackberry Twilight Tour
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IPM Webinar Series:
The series meets on the third Thursday of every month from 12 to 1 pm. For more details and registration, visit https://go.umd.edu/ipmwebinar. Maryland Pesticide Credits are available. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact Hayden Schug at 301-226-7502.
- June 25, 2026: Spotted Wing Drosophila: Management in Berries and Small Fruits - Dr. Kelly Hamby, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland
July 16, 2026: Pesticide selection and spray considerations - Hayden Schug, University of Maryland Extension
Aug 20, 2026: Common Diseases Right Now and How to Manage Them - Dr. Ana Cristina Fulladolsa, Plant Diagnostician, University of Maryland Plant Diagnostic Lab
Sep 17, 2026: Root-Knot Nematode Management in Vegetable Crops - Ben Beale, University of Maryland Extension
Oct 15, 2026: Precision herbicide application - Dr. Travis Ford, University of Maryland Extension
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Lower Shore Vegetable & Small Fruit Twilight Tour
Date: June 25, 2026 | Thursday
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. | Cost: This event is free, but registration is requested for a dinner count. Dinner is at 5:00 pm, with the tour starts at 5:45 pm.
Location: Lower Eastern Shore Research & Education Center is located at 27664 Nanticoke Road, Salisbury, MD.
Description: Come listen to extension educators and specialists from UMD, UDel and IR4 speak about and taste their research on blueberries, blackberries, sweet corn, watermelon, cantaloup, peppers, and biodegradable plastic. Maryland Pesticide Credits available for 1A, Core and PVT. If you have questions about the program, please contact Haley Sater at hsater@umd.edu or (301)226-7718.
Register to attend the Lower Shore & Small Fruit Twilight Tour
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Event: Maryland Crop Scouting School at WYE
Date: June 25, 2026 | Thursday
Time: 9:00 am to 2:45 pm | Cost: $10
Location: Wye Research and Education Center, 124 Wye Narrows Drive, Queenstown, MD 21658
Description: Join us for a hands-on Crop Scouting School focused on building practical skills for identifying and managing pests, diseases, and crop issues in the field. Participants will learn how to scout effectively, recognize key problems, and make informed management decisions using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles. This program is designed for farmers, crop consultants, and ag service providers looking to improve their field diagnostics and decision-making. This event covers common pests in row crop and vegetable production systems.
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/maryland-crop-scouting-school-at-wye-tickets-1988090629591?aff=oddtdtcreator
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Anne Arundel County Urban Farm Tour and Ice Cream Social
Date: July 23, 2026 | Thursday
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. | Cost: Free, but registration is required.
Description: You are invited to the Anne Arundel County Urban Farm Research Clinic (AAUFRC) Urban Farm Tour and Ice Cream Social at the Anne Arundel Extension Office located at 97 Dairy Lane, Gambrills, MD on Thursday, July 23, 2026, from 5:00 to 7:30pm. Ice cream will be served at 5:00pm followed by a walking farm tour that begins at 6:00pm. This year the AAUFRC will highlight hops, wine grapes, apples, peaches, blackberries, sweet corn and flour corn varieties, pumpkins, gourds, high tunnel vegetables and herbs, cut flowers, market gardening, and bee keeping.
This event is free. If you need special assistance to participate, please contact the Anne Arundel County Extension office at 301-226-7470 by July 22nd.
Registration for Urban Farm Tour and Ice Cream Social is on-line at Eventbrite.
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Crops Twilight, Barbecue & Ice Cream Social
Date: August 4, 2026 | Tuesday
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. | Cost: Free, but registration is required.
Description: You are invited to a Fields Crops Research Twilight, Barbecue and Ice Cream Social at the Central Maryland Research and Education Center (CMREC), 2005 Largo Road, Upper Marlboro, Maryland on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, from 4:00 to 9 PM. A barbecue dinner will be served at 4:00 pm followed by homemade ice cream prior to the evening tour. University of Maryland Extension Educators and Specialists will showcase their field crop, vegetable and fruit research plots. Barbeque begins at 4:00 PM, Ice cream Served at 5:15 PM, Crops Twilight at 6:00 PM.
Please arrive on time as the wagon tour will start promptly at 6:00 PM.
This event is free. However, a reserved meal ticket is required. If you need special assistance to participate, please contact the Anne Arundel County Extension office at 301-226-7470 by August 3rd.
Registration for Crops Twilight is on-line at Eventbrite.
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Event: Maryland Crop Scouting School at CMREC (Clarksville)
Date: September 24, 2026 | Thursday
Time: 9:00 am to 2:45 pm | Cost: $10
Location: Central Maryland Research and Education Center, 4240 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City, MD 21042
Description: Join us for a hands-on Crop Scouting School focused on building practical skills for identifying and managing pests, diseases, and crop issues in the field. Participants will learn how to scout effectively, recognize key problems, and make informed management decisions using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) principles. This program is designed for farmers, crop consultants, and ag service providers looking to improve their field diagnostics and decision-making. This event covers common pests in row crop and vegetable production systems.
Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/maryland-crop-scouting-school-at-wye-tickets-1988090629591?aff=oddtdtcreator
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Hiring and Retaining Farm Employees – What you Need to Know and Do
Are you trying to find, hire and keep great employees? Is it a bit confusing and time consuming? Do you know where to start and who to involve? Are you worried about the legal considerations when having non-family members employed? This course will help you sort through all these questions and concerns. Navigating this process doesn’t have to be difficult as this course will share with you. Through the four modules of this course, you’ll get important information and resources you can adapt for your own operation. For more information go to https://agrisk.umd.edu/grant-proposals/hiring-and-retaining-farm-employees
Viticulture and Grape Growing Workshops
New Grape Grower Workshop
The New Grape Grower Workshop is held yearly during the month of March or April at the Maryland Wine Grape Industry Annual Meeting, sponsored by the Maryland Grape Growers Association and Maryland Wineries Association in cooperation with the University of Maryland Extension.
This course offers a broad overview of commercial vineyard development from pre-plant planning into the third year including economics and marketing information, variety, clone, and rootstock choices, site selection and preparation, pre-plant decisions, equipment, and supply requirements. We will also cover the basics of ordering, planting, and tending the vines through the third year of growth, as well as best practices for training, canopy management, and pest management.
The workshop is classroom format with a lot of time for Q&A.This seminar is a good overview of what is involved with getting a commercial vineyard started in the Mid-Atlantic.
Archives (Webinar Recordings)
Central Maryland Vegetable Growers Virtual Meeting
Date: January 28, 2020 | Length: 4:04:35
Virtual Winter Vegetable Grower Meeting
Date: December 2, 2020 | Length: 4:14:46
Topics discussed: Legalities of Direct Farm Marketing Specialty Crops, Sarah Everhart, Legal Specialist,
University of Maryland; Maryland Food Safety Program Update, Angela Ferelli, Agent Associate & Carol Allen, Agent Associate, University of Maryland; Vegetable Weed Control Update; Kurt Vollmer, Weed Science Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; MDA Pesticide Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture; Odd Insects and Diseases of Vegetables, Jerry Brust, Vegetable IPM Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; Managing Salinity and pH in High tunnels, Neith little, Urban Educator & Andrew Ristvey, Alternative Crops Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; Vegetable Trials Update, Gordon Johnson, Vegetable Specialist, University of Delaware Extension; and MDA Nutrient Management Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture
Virtual Winter Fruit Grower Meeting
Date: December 10, 2020 | Thursday
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. | Location: Virtual
Topics discussed: Spotted Wing Drosophila on Cranberries, Maggie Lewis, Entomology, Graduate Student University of Maryland; Insect Biological Control, Alan Leslie, Extension Educator University of Maryland Extension; Small Fruit Update, Ben Beale, Extension Educator University of Maryland Extension; MDA PAT Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture; Food Safety Update, Angela Ferelli, Agent Associate, Carol Allen, Agent Associate University of Maryland; Soil Health in High Tunnels, Neith little, Urban Educator, and Andrew Ristvey, Alternative Crops Specialist University of Maryland Extension; Fruit Tactics for the Coastal Plains, Dave Myers, Extension Educator University of Maryland Extension; and MDA Nutrient Management Update, Maryland department of Agriculture
Bay Area Virtual Fruit Meeting
Date: February 10, 2021 | Length: 4:23:36
Topics discussed: Legalities of Direct Farm Marketing Specialty Crops, Sarah Everhart, Legal Specialist,
University of Maryland; Insect Control Update, Kelly Hamby, Entomology Assistant Professor, University of Maryland; Fruit Weed Control Update, Kurt Vollmer, Weed Science Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; MDA PAT Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture; Apple Maturity and Harvest, Macarena Farcuh, Horticulture Assistant Professor, University of Maryland; Maryland Vineyard Industry Update, Joe Fiola, Viticulture & Small Fruit Specialist, University of Maryland Extension; Climate Change and the Orchard, Chris Walsh,, Horticulture Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland; MDA Nutrient Management Update, Maryland Department of Agriculture
Explore Meeting and Events
Agriculture Extension Winter Crop Production Meetings
Our local agricultural agents are getting ready and planning our Winter Production meetings later this summer. Get ready for an exciting lineup of events in the fall of 2024 and winter of 2025. Don't miss the opportunity to earn pesticide recertification and nutrient management credits at these meetings.