BEGINNING FARMER SUCCESS May/June Events— click events for more information 5/17—Composting for Re- sults Class 5/17—Container Gardening Seminar 5/19—Choose Your Tour at Wheatland—Urban Ag Tours 5/24—Introduction to Far- riery Seminar 5/31—Never Too Late for Herbs - growing herbs class 5/31—Free gardening demonstrations 6/5—Fundamentals of Nu- trient Management Work- shop 6/5—Heirloom Garden Workshop 6/6—19th Annual Procras- tinator’s Pest Management Conference 6/7—Garret/Allegany Bee- keeping field day More events can be found on our site under “events” he cold winter, followed by the wet and cooler spring of 2014 presented a challenge to many beginning farmers across Maryland. Dealing with weather is just one of the many risks farmers confront every day. Vegetable production is a pop- ular enterprise for many beginning farmers due to the wide range of cultivated vegetable crops, market availability for unique produce and growing local foods movement. Beginning vegetable farmers are finding success by participating in Community Sup- ported Agriculture (CSA), farm stands, farmers markets, wholesale to brokers and auction markets and selling directly to res- taurants aiming to feature locally sourced foods. There are many questions to consider when beginning to shape the idea of starting a vegetable production farm business. It takes more than land and a market to get started and to be successful. The Maryland Beginning Farmer Success website outlines common questions to consider when starting a vegetable pro- duction business. The questions are complemented by a list of Keys to Suc- cess, developed by Maryland Extension Educators. Questions and Keys to Success can be found under First Steps to Farming. General information on vegetable production such as needed equip- ment, irrigation, and integrated pest management can be found under the crops section on the Start Here page. May 2014 Volume 1, Issue 7 Photo courtesy of: Edwin Remsburg Vegetable Production Extension.umd.edu/newfarmer