Educational efforts help Frederick woman win state farm bureau honor

Jan. 4—A state farm organization honored Frederick resident Connie Palmer in December as the top woman in agriculture for 2022, but her farming roots are deeper than the agricultural education initiatives for which she was recognized.

The Maryland Farm Bureau gave Palmer its Agri-Woman of the Year Award. It recognizes members with "exceptional passion and dedication" to the agricultural community, according to the bureau's award criteria.

Palmer was specifically recognized for her work in agricultural education, in which she has sought to connect younger generations with the food they eat and the farmers that grow it.

This includes, Palmer said, setting up educational demonstrations at the Great Frederick Fair, teaching farming and gardening classes, and encouraging local libraries to circulate a children's book titled "Tales of the Dairy Godmother," which Palmer said is based on nearby Rocky Point Creamery.

"We are trying to get some kind of agricultural education into our elementary and to our middle schools," Palmer said.

Palmer grew up spending weekends and summers on her grandparents' farm in Middletown Valley. There, she helped her grandmother, Nellie Summers, with a bit of everything, from the farm's orchard, where they grew a variety of peaches, pears and grapes, to the potato crops.

At her father's small farm elsewhere in Middletown Valley, Palmer was also responsible for tending to chickens and a large garden. Palmer's farm work continued in 1956, when she moved to Thurmont and spent summers and time after school milking cows on a dairy farm.

Working alongside her grandmother during her childhood years laid the foundation for her love of farming, Palmer said.

"It's a lot of her knowledge that I still use today," Palmer said of her grandmother. "You know, this kind of thing, it gets into your blood, and you're just proud to come from a farm heritage."

Palmer has used that knowledge in her work with the Maryland Farm Bureau, of which she has been a member since 1983. She also has served as the Frederick County Farm Bureau's Women's Leadership Committee chair since 2018, among other leadership positions within the state farm bureau and Maryland Association of Agricultural Fairs and Shows.

"She's been one of the steady influences in our county farm bureau for a number of years," said Denny Remsburg, president of the Frederick County Farm Bureau.

Remsburg commended Palmer's dedication to education and said it's the cornerstone of her work with the farm bureau.

"That's always been her mission," Remsburg said, "to demonstrate how important agriculture is to our economy and our way of life."

Audrey Wolfe, an active member of the Frederick County Farm Bureau and former chair of the Women's Leadership Committee, had similar praise for Palmer.

"Connie was instrumental in expanding the agricultural education booth at the fair and teaching children the values of foods and how they're grown," Wolfe said.

Wolfe commended Palmer's work at the state capital, speaking with legislators about problems Frederick County farmers face and the help they need from state government. Similarly, Palmer spearheaded trips in which legislators visited Frederick County and toured various farms as farm bureau members spoke of their legislative concerns.

Asked who her role models in agriculture were, she identified Wolfe as one.

"It's her interest in keeping agriculture alive," Palmer said.

Palmer said she was shocked to win the award and was sure to note the work of other women in the state farm bureau.

"There's so many other great ladies working in the farm bureau and the honor should be theirs, as well," Palmer said.

Asked about the future of farming in Frederick County, Palmer was optimistic.

"Our country is growing by leaps and bounds with people," she said. "We have to have food to feed them and I see a future for the farmer."