Week Seven with Extension by Simala Wright

Harvest after counting bugs

The professional development of the week began with Ms. Amanda Shaffer, College of

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Officer. As the workforce has

changed and will continue to change, workers must adapt to the changes. Some of the changes

are language barrier when communicating and cultural differences in the work environment.

While it is appropriate to look a person in the eye when talking in western culture, in Asia, it is

not appropriate. Greetings; hugs with cheek to cheek or simple hello without contact including

handshake. These are just few behaviors that we should be aware of when interacting with

people from different cultures.

We had an additional guest speaker in person of Ms. Julia Groenfledt, Program Manager

Prince George's County Food Equity Council. The council is part of the County’s Institute of

Public Health Innovation. Their mission is to help residents grow, sell, and choose healthy food.

Additionally, it addresses food challenges and inequities in the current food system. The County

has a large population of people with food insecurity. Also, there has been a loss of farmland.

How does the county react to these challenges? They have instituted a pilot program referred to

as Food as Medicine. This program is geared towards people with diet issues.


On Tuesday, I made my first stop at the Wicomico office and took the PVC pipes

markings which I had prepared for the blueberries the week before. I took them to Lower Eastern

Shore Research and Education Center (LESREC), and marked the variety of berries in the trial. I

made my way to the Somerset office and performed the Pre-sidedress Soil Nitrate Test (PNST)

on the soil I had extracted from Bryan Racine farm the past week, located in Cecil County. The

Somerset County fair is fast approaching and started to toil with the activities needed to engage

the kids and visitors as they come through.

Emily and Alison setting up the corn ear worm trap.

The next day was the highlight of the week. Dr. Sater and I attended Maryland State

Horticulture Society Summer Tour of 2023, Southern Maryland. Our first stop was Loveville,

Produce Auction, at 40454 Bishop Road, Loveville, Maryland. The auction was opened in 2005,

and is privately run and governed by a five member board. The majority of the farmers are

Amish and Mennonites though all farmers are accepted. One of the rules governing the auction is

that your produce must be of good quality or the board reserves the right to reject it. There is also

no buy backs. The fresh produce are sold in bulk and, in some cases, by volume instead of pint or

quart size. The operation runs from April to December. The peak selling period is July – August,

and there is a nine percent sellers fee. After the auction, we proceeded to Shlagle farm located at

12850 Shlagle Road, Waldorf, Maryland. Mr. Shlagle, is a 4th or 5th generation farmer. He

acquired the farm from his father but the farm was established in the early 1900s’ by his great,

great, grandfather who emigrated from Germany. He has 400 acres which he share with his

children. They specialize in cattle, fruits and vegetables consisting of berries, cucumbers, squash,

corn, peppers, and other vegetable varieties. His choice of crops attract deer, leaving him with no

choice but to obtain a permit to shoot at night in order to reduce the population. Our final stop

was Miller farm located at 10140 Piscataway Road, Clinton Maryland. The 230 acre family

farm, includes his sister, brother, children and their significant others and produces fruits,

vegetables, and flowers. The farm is approximately 14 miles from the Washington DC area.

Thursday, we were back at Lower Eastern Shore Research Education Center (LESREC)

to count bugs, bees, and other insects living on the squash. The research on the squash is testing

various herbicide products in preventing or reducing bug infestation and the yield. Emily and

Allison had sprayed the herbicides a week prior. A week later we had to count the infestation of

bugs, egg clusters, and any other foreign potential infestation. After the counting, we harvested

some of the squash and before departing LESREC, Emily and Allison installed a corn earworm

trap. The purpose is to trap the male ear worms and do a weekly count so as to gather the effects

on the yield for this season. After counting bugs, we went back to the office to do some

administrative work. Sarah and Haley sent out a survey to the local farmers and I inputted their

response into the tracker.

Getting ready to count bugs.

The last day of the week saw me entering data of the animals that were capture by the

cameras from the miscanthus field. The cameras were able to capture larger animals, but not

mosquitoes and ticks, two of the most common insects I encountered.

The end product from the harvest. Yummy!!