Cost share is available to Delaware, Maryland or Pennsylvania growers interested in adding an additional split to their nitrogen application on their 2023 corn crop.

The Mid-Atlantic 4R Nutrient Stewardship Association and its agribusiness partners will work with producers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for the third and final year of this grant opportunity.

Farmers who apply an additional split of nitrogen and leave a control strip with the same total poundage will be eligible for a $15-per-acre incentive payment.

Farmers are eligible to enroll 40 acres or 400 acres, so long as a control strip is available in each field. The 4R alliance requires past crop and yield data, as well as 2023 corn yield checks, to analyze and compare results. Data collected over the three-year grant will be compiled for a published case study.

In 2021, five Maryland farms participated and had an average yield increase of 19.2 bushels per acre where they used an additional split to their nitrogen applications versus all of it upfront.

Of the 11 participating farms in Pennsylvania, farmers saw an average yield increase of 17.6 bushels per acre and a 12% increase in nitrogen-use efficiency. Check out more results here.

To enroll and to learn more, call Eric Rosenbaum in Pennsylvania at 484-788-7263 or email [email protected]. In Delaware and Maryland, call Jenell Eck McHenry at 443-262-6969 or email [email protected]. Sign-up is encouraged by April 1.

CDL A grants available

Maryland Grain Producers is offering two grants in the amount of $1,500 to help producers cover the cost of getting a Class A commercial driver’s license.

As of Feb. 7, 2022, to obtain a CDL, one is required to take Entry-Level Driver Training before taking the driver’s skills test. This change is based on a congressional mandate for new CDL holders.

From start to CDL A license, individuals are required to get about 300 hours of classroom training, have a DOT card, and complete a written exam and a road test. The cost of training varies, but reports estimate costs between $3,000 and $6,000. Classes can be done through community colleges across the state.

Online applications must be completed by May 5. Applications will be reviewed by the selection committee with all personal information redacted. Winners will be announced at the 2023 Maryland Commodity Classic on July 27.

Eligible candidates include Maryland Grain Producers Association members or their employees.

Recipients will be awarded the grant funds once a CDL A has been obtained.

If you have any questions, email Maryland Grain Producers at [email protected] or call 443-262-6969.

New England dairy workshops

Dairy farmers interested in improving the economic viability of their farms are invited to attend a free two-day workshop at one of three northern New England locations.

The Dairy Financial Tristate Workshop is sponsored by the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, which is hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.  

Farmers will learn how to calculate cost of production and their breakeven milk price with the help of Tony Kitsos, University of Vermont Extension dairy business program specialist, and Joanna Lidback, an Adirondack Management Services LLC business consultant. The presenters also will discuss risk management and diversification options.  

Although there is no cost to attend, registration is required by March 13. Registration information can be found at go.uvm.edu/costofproduction.

Farmers may attend any location, regardless of their state of residence, as programming is the same at each site.

The program will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at all locations, and lunch is included. Dates and locations are as follows:

March 20-21. Lisa's White Flour Catering, 205 Church Hill Road, Augusta, Maine. Call Glenda Pereira at 207-581-3240 or email [email protected].

March 27-28. University of New Hampshire Extension Office, 315 Daniel Webster Highway, Boscawen, N.H. Call Sarah Allen at 603-825-5509 or email [email protected].

April 3-4. UVM Extension Office, 327 U.S. Route 302, Barre, Vt. Contact Whitney Hull at 802-279-7517 or email [email protected].