On Wednesday, I carpooled early in the morning with fellow intern Holly Greenberg to the Eastern Shore for the Maryland Association of County Agricultural Agents (MACAA) tour of agriculture. Upon arriving, we joined other UME specialists and agents to head to our first stop; Fair Hill Farms. This organic dairy farm manages about 800 milking cows using a rotating milking parlor. Having previously worked on a dairy farm that used standard pumps, it was fascinating to see how much faster this setup was, and how the cows calmly walked on and off the machine on their own.
Next, we visited Red Acres Hydroponics, a greenhouse operation that grew out of an old dairy farm. They now produce lettuce and herbs for local restaurants and schools, while also operating as an event venue. From there, we headed to Angelica Nurseries, a massive tree and shrub operation. Because the property was too large to explore on foot, we toured it on a converted school bus while the owner explained their growing processes, sustainability efforts, and worker accommodations.
Our final stop was the Harris Oyster Company in Grasonville, where the owner shared the history of Chesapeake Bay oysters, the challenges that led to their past decline, and the good news that their population is steadily recovering.
All these stops were really interesting to hear our family, community, and staff work together to grow their business and what they do to sustain the environment in their own way. I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to meet each of them!
Afterwards all the staff and interns had a celebratory picnic at the end, which was a nice way to make new connections and maintain ones that have been already made.
Here is a group photo of the interns while visiting Fair Hills Farm during the MACAA tour.
Here is a photo of a very photogenic cow at Fair Hills Farm.
While big tech trends like artificial intelligence and the massive energy and water demands of data centers might seem abstract, they actually impact every modern industry especially agriculture, which sits right at the intersection of technology, natural resources, and economic survival. The University of Maryland Extension brings this reality to life by acting as a bridge between university research and the public. While staff used to focus on translating basic seed trials and soil chemistry for local growers, today they help farmers, landowners, and rural communities understand and apply complex data streams, predictive algorithms, and automated machinery to their everyday work.
Even as an intern at the University of Maryland Extension (UME), technology plays an indispensable role in my responsibilities every day. From processing raw data to designing promotional flyers and canvas tote bags for an upcoming survey opportunity, none of these projects would be as visually polished or efficiently produced without modern digital tools.
In a few weeks, I will be assisting Xuan in collecting data from our surveys from a farmers' market. Just a few weeks ago we were trying to figure out different ways to convince people to participate in our surveys through incentives (bribery). We first considered something like couponing which would involve using technology of designing the coupons and financial difficulties, so we decided there would be many hoops to jump through to use those. We then decided that tote bags would not require an additional financial element and would be worth the same amount. So, Xuan left me in charge of designing, allocating, and communicating with the vendor. This was scary at first, but after completed stages of this process I felt more confident in my abilities and hope that this project will be a success.
Technology streamlines the busywork, so my final projects look professional. However, when using tools like AI, I believe we still need to be responsible for our own work. We shouldn't blindly rely on algorithms; we need to use our own brains first, because technology cannot replace human intuition, empathy, or creativity. Instead, we should use AI to handle tedious tasks so we can focus our time on growing professionally and helping the community.
To finish this amazing blog off, here is a male blue crab waking up, after trying to throw some hands (or should I say claws), making bubbles at Harris Oyster Company! Hope everyone has a phenomenal day!
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