On June 30,2018 the public was invited to learn about the importance of local agriculture and the journey of food from the farm to the table at the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences’ and University of Maryland Extension’s (UME) first-ever Breakfast on the Farm event, hosted by Teabow Farms in Walkersville, MD and organized by ANSC professor, Dr. Robert Peters and Racheal Slattery, Coordinator of Dairy-Beef Extension Activities. This was a free, open to the public, educational event encouraging people to visit a working farm and meet a family of local dairy farmers.
After a hearty breakfast, the visitors were given a tour of the farm’s facilities with experts from UME, Teabow Farms, and the industry on-site to discuss cattle health and veterinary care, breeding and reproduction, and provide a demonstration of milking equipment.
Owned by the Stup family, Frederick County’s 2014 Farm Family of the Year for outstanding agricultural achievement, Teabow Farms is a modern dairy operation with a history stretching back three generations. Their progressive enterprise is indicative of the Stup family’s dedication to environmental stewardship and modern farming practices. Breakfast on the Farm participants will learn about the Stup family’s efforts in property management, reforestation and fencing to protect local waterways, as well as modern cropping and nutrient management practices, helping to improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The Stup’s state-of-the-art farm provides modern milking and housing facilities, and detailed nutritional testing and computer formulation of ration for diets of cattle of all ages. They administer a veterinary and vaccination program for continual monitoring of animal health, and their system also allows for recording and reporting data on milk yield and quality.
