Every fall, Harman’s Farm has the pleasure of hosting school tours in which children not only have fun picking pumpkins, but they also learn about different aspects of agriculture. During the off season, I also spend time at schools and other venues, sharing Harman’s Farm’s story and stressing the importance of agriculture in our lives and community.

We feel that it is important to practice what we preach, so Tom and I also try to learn as much as we can about farming and ways to make our farming practices and business better. We are constantly reading farm publications to keep up with all the politics and regulations which impact farming, as well as ideas that we can use in our operation. We recently attended the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference in Hershey, PA. This is a conference that we have attended for at least the last 17 years (I lost track). This outstanding event has 9 concurrent sessions going on for 3 full days. Highly qualified educators and fellow farmers blend to share the latest in fruit and vegetable farming. We often learn a lot just talking with other farmers during lunch or between sessions. Tom and I brainstorm and dream of ways to improve our own operation.

I recently started taking a course called Annie’s Project. It is a class for women, conceived by an Ag educator whose mother was a farmer’s wife and left to run the farm upon his death. This six week course covers many aspects of managing risk on your farm through problem solving, record keeping, and decision-making skills. If you wish to learn more, please visit http://anniesproject.umd.edu/.

Agricultural education is so important to our children and ourselves. As our general population increases and the number of farmers decreases, it is so important to keep in mind where our food comes from and the force behind it.