I had the chance last week to travel to my hometown of Baltimore, Md., and visit 3 farms in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Being an ag journalist for nearly 3 years now, I've seen lots of different farms — small and large, dairy and row crops, high-tech and old school equipment — I've seen pretty much everything. But as any farmer will tell you, the learning never ends even after several decades of farming, and the same is true for covering agriculture as a writer. And getting a glimpse into the world of agriculture near where I grew up was extra special for me to see.
Agriculture in that part of the country is focused heavily on conservation, in large part due to the Chesapeake Bay, Susquehanna River and other protected watersheds in the greater Delmarva (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) area. All 3 farmers I visited, despite living anywhere from 5-55 miles away from these important bodies of water, said they have to be aware of these bays and rivers because the government has specific regulations for nutrient management programs and other practices that can or cannot be conducted within a certain mile radius of the watersheds. And it's about more than just the regulations — these farmers want to protect the bodies of water from erosion because it's the responsible thing to do and using conservation practices like no-till and cover crops will pay dividends in other ways on their farm as well.
The first farmer I visited on my trip was none other than veteran no-tiller Jim Hershey, known by many as the President of the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance. Hershey is hosting a big field day on his farm during the last full week of July. He's a true no-till pioneer in his area and has done so much in terms of growing the no-till community in and around Pennsylvania. Hershey has been no-tilling for nearly 50 years and planting cover crops for more than 20 years. He showed me a lot on his farm during our visit, but rather than type all of it out, I'm excited to share that for Hershey, as well as the other 2 farmers I visited on my trip, I will be releasing a special 6-part podcast series detailing my entire trip.
This series will be released one episode at a time over the course of the next few months. Listeners can expect to ride along with me in the car as I travel to the farms, sit down with me and each farmer as they share the history of their farm, and come along in the cab with us as I get a tour of each farm.
Episode 1 of the series will be published during the second week of July, with an additional episode published every other week following that first episode release. From Jim Hershey in Elizabethtown, Pa., to Bryan Racine in Cecil County, Md., and back to Paul McPherson in New Park, Pa., the series will offer a glimpse into agriculture in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. and will showcase several similarities and differences between small and large farms in that area.
So, if you want to see and hear what I learned on my trip about the cover crop seeding and termination methods these farmers use as well as what equipment they prefer and what kind of lessons they've learned from no-tilling and cover cropping over the years, then pack your bags and get ready to hit the road with me. (And be sure to pack your sunscreen because it is HOT in Maryland and Pennsylvania this time of year).
