The Delmarva Farmer

06/05/2026

06/05/2026

Tuckahoe Turf Farms, Inc. in Hammonton, N.J., is running autonomous tractors using Sabanto's retrofit technology for seeding, mowing, and leveling across its 800 acres of sod production — and CFO Allen Carter says the return on investment pencils out within five years.

HAMMONTON, N.J. — If you happen to see a tractor mowing a field at Tuckahoe Turf Farms without a human being at the wheel, don’t be alarmed. You don’t need to call the police or other authorities. It’s not a runaway vehicle or being operated by an alien. Instead, it’s one of a few ag vehic...

06/03/2026

University of Maryland senior legal research associate Samantha Capaldo breaks down which agricultural employers in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia are required to carry workers' compensation insurance — and where the exemptions are murky enough to warrant a call to your lawyer.

(Editor’s note: Samantha Capaldo is a senior legal research associate with the University of Maryland and UMES. This column should not be interpreted as legal or financial advice for the reader.) Workers’ Compensation is a type of insurance that most non-agricultural employers and some agricultu...

06/02/2026

Maryland Farm Service Agency's Bob Wevodau says the April 21 frost that damaged barley, fruit trees and grapes across the region may qualify growers for FSA's Tree Assistance Program, which covers up to 65 percent of replanting costs for losses exceeding 15 percent.

(Editor’s note: Bob Wevodau is a farm program chief with Farm Service Agency, Maryland.) They say success isn’t linear. There are highs and lows, but with luck and hard work you eventually get to where you need to be. They could also say the same thing about the weather. The transition of season...

06/02/2026

The annual Ricky Jones Memorial Scholarship Pig Roast and Auction in Pulaski County raised more than $7,000 this year, enough for the Jones family to fund two $2,500 scholarships for Pulaski County FFA members instead of one.

BLACKSBURG, Va. — The family of a well-known Pulaski County agribusinessman and farmer, Ricky Jones, started a scholarship fund as memorial after his early death in 2010. It continues today and is growing. Their annual Pig Roast and Auction held May 10 raised over $7,000 for the Ricky Jones Memori...

06/01/2026

Jack Mills of Federalsburg, Md., a solo owner-operator who logs 2.5 to 3 million board feet a year and specializes in wildlife habitat cuts on Maryland's Eastern Shore, has been named the 2026 MD/DE Master Logger of the Year by the University of Maryland Extension and the Maryland Forests Association.

FEDERALSBURG, Md. — Jack Mills picked up logging the way most people pick up a bad habit — gradually, then all at once. He grew up tagging along with his uncle, Tom Mitchell, a logger who worked the timber country of Maryland’s Eastern Shore with the kind of quiet competence that leaves an imp...

05/31/2026

Virginia Tech and the Virginia Cattlemen's Association are hosting the third Virginia Beef Cattle University in Blacksburg July 8-10, featuring more than 30 breakout sessions and keynote speakers including National Cattlemen's Beef Association President Gene Copenhaver, with early bird registration open through June 19.

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Plans for the third Virginia Beef Cattle University to be held here July 8-10 are nearing completion according to organizers. The joint project of Virginia Tech and the Virginia Cattlemen’s Association was created two years ago. It is growing and on its way to becoming an annua...

05/30/2026

Nichole Krambeck of Wyoming, Del., whose Insight Ag Scouting LLC has grown from 200 acres to nearly 4,000 since launching in 2021, has been named Delaware's inaugural Rural Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Early in her high school years, Nichole Krambeck recalls carrying a jimsom w**d plant into her plant science class to show a teacher. While the teacher acknowledged her enthusiasm for the find, he promptly asked her to remove the odorous plant pest. She complied but kept looking at plants, turning h...

05/29/2026

The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg needs $15 million in philanthropic commitments by June 7 to fully fund a new two-story, 32,000-square-foot Veterinary Teaching Hospital building — or risk losing eight planned surgical suites and paying at least $4 million more later.

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Plans for a Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine are complete and ready to be implemented, the college’s dean said. The proposed two-story building includes about  32,000 square feet of space aimed at continuing to follow the th...

05/28/2026

The College of Southern Maryland's Vertical Agriculture Systems Certificate program at its La Plata campus is drawing full classes and waiting lists, with Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland scholarship funding available to cover tuition for up to 50 more residents of Charles, St. Mary's and Calvert counties.

LA PLATA, Md. — A certificate program training students in the emerging field of vertical agriculture is drawing full classes and waiting lists at the College of Southern Maryland, backed by scholarship funding that could cover tuition for dozens more local residents. CSM’s Vertical Agriculture ...