Women in Agriculture Conference

The 12th Annual Regional Women In Agriculture Conference was held February 25-26, 2013 at the Dover Downs Hotel in Dover, Delaware. This was the first time for me to attend this event. 

 Upon arrival I was greeted by friendly ladies and enjoyed a nice breakfast. 

Julie DeYoung, spokesperson for Perdue Farms spoke on “Putting the Family Back into Farming - A Case Study in Reshaping the Image of Modern Agriculture”. She was joined by a panel of three farmers.

 Dover Downs served a great lunch probably the best I ever had at a conference. The hardest part was choosing which dessert to try. I went with the cheesecake and a slice of chocolate cake. 

There was several workshops to sit in during the day to learn about risk management.

The second day, Dover Downs served us a nice hot breakfast to get us going. More workshops were available to attend. Adams Fruit Market is committed to food safety so without question I chose the Food Safety GAPs workshop. Meredith Melendez from Rutgers, spoke on farm food safety. 

I also attended the workshop titled Attracting Songbirds given by Brent Marsh. He was an entertaining speaker and talked a lot about insects. He said if we want to attract song birds then we need insects for them to eat. I won the book Bringing Nature Home by Douglas W. Tallamy. I can’t wait to read it.

Closing remarks was given by Ed Kee, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture. He talked about the Changing Times of Agriculture. 

This conference was a relaxed learning experience with keynote speakers, formal presentations and the opportunity to network with other farm women like myself.

Hats off to the planning committee for a great job!  I had a wonderful time and I am looking forward to next year’s conference.

Blessings,

The Plant Lady ~ Linda

Beach Day and Healthy Eating

I had a free day so my husband and I want to Assateague State Park. It is just a little drive past Ocean City, MD. 

Wow the day was very windy and foggy.

 I love this time of year because it is peaceful but it was too windy to walk the beach.

We did see one horse up close and he was nice to let me take his picture.

From a distance we saw about six more horses.

Inside the visitors center we watch a movie about the horses living at the park.

I enjoyed the day and we ate at a local restaruant on the way home.

Assateague is a nice park to spend the day hopefully next time it will not be as windy.

Since this is Adams Fruit Market’s blog let me share some reasons to eat fruit...

• Apples help your body develop resistance against infections.
• Bananas are great for athletes because they give you energy.
• Blueberries protect your heart.
• Cherries help calm your nervous system.
• Grapes relax your blood vessels.
• Kiwi increases bone mass.
• Mangos protect against several kinds of cancer.
• Oranges help maintain great skin and vision.
• Peaches are rich in potassium, fluoride, and iron.
• Pineapples help fight arthritis.
• Strawberries can potentially fight against cancer and aging.
• Watermelon helps control your heart rate.

Fruit is a great snack to take to the beach.

Have a great day and eat fruit,

The Plant Lady ~ Linda

Snow Day

I was hostess to three children on Saturday. After several hours of indoor play we motored to our favorite ice cream creamery to indulged in some cold treats. The weather was very cold outside but ice cream is always good.

 When we arrived back to my house the kids wanted to play outside. The first adventure was knocking off all the icicles they could reach and pretending to be walruses. I think everyone has done this as a kid. They had lots of fun pulling each other around in the sled and sledging down all the hills that still had snow on them.

 Before long it was time to go back in the house to get warm. I put the wet coats and mittens by the wood stove to dry off. 

After dinner we noticed that it had began to snow again. By this time all three started to jump up and down happily yelling that it was a blizzard and they was going to be snow bound at my house for days! I was relieved when their parents came and the little snow bunnies could go home. And the house was quiet again until the next time. 

Soon Saturdays will be spent tending to the plants in the greenhouses.

I like working in the greenhouses. It is so relaxing just me, the plants and the warm sunshine. It gives me lots of time to think but I will always cherish those Saturday snow days spent with the kids. Building memories. Isn’t that what it is all about.

Blessings,

The Plant Lady ~ Linda