Farming an 'incurable addiction' for new agricultural extension agent
Jun. 20—Mark Townsend, the newest agricultural agent at Frederick County's University of Maryland Agricultural Extension office, believes that farming is neither a job nor a lifestyle.
"It is an incurable addiction," the former farm-hand and UMD graduate said.
After graduating in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, he began working at Rocklands Farm in Poolesville before moving to Wyoming to continue managing livestock on a larger scale. He moved back to Maryland and continued to work at local farms, including Clark's Elioak Farm in Howard County, milking cows and managing pastures.
He returned to his alma mater, working on dairy research at the university's Research and Education Center in Clarksburg, before beginning his work in Frederick.
Townsend was enthusiastic about applying for an agricultural position in Frederick. He couldn't help but apply, saying the county is a great area with a large agricultural economy.
"It's got a long-standing tradition here and it's just such an integral part of [the] community," Townsend said.
Townsend, who began working at the extension on May 23, said he wants to use his degree in Agricultural and Natural Resources Economics to promote a three-legged approach to sustainable farming. Sustainability often relies on ecological and environmental aspects, leaving out the integral financial piece, he explained.
Townsend said he also wants to focus on agronomy, which is the science of soil management and crop production, and soil health, but his current goal is to get a sense of the community and make sure that people know about him. He's been visiting farms around the county, which he said is his favorite part of the job, and allowing word of mouth to do some of the work for him. Townsend has also made a concentrated effort to put out information online about himself and programs that the extension office offers.
In the future, Townsend said he wants to create a bridge between farmers and the science of soil health. Scientists, he said, often overcomplicate or become too technical about topics, which doesn't help farmers much.
"I would like to step in and kind of be the conduit between the two," the self-proclaimed "soil nerd" said.
His love for soil and agriculture started in high school, when he took an AP environmental science class and was taught that agriculture was destroying the world. Rather than taking those claims without question, Townsend decided to explore agriculture and farm life.
He began working on farms, milking cows and working with horticulture, which inspired him to continue working on sustainability of agriculture in college. UMD, Townsend said, is a "phenomenal institution" that he is extremely grateful towards. The university shaped and molded who he is, leaving him a "Terp for life," he said.
Townsend and his family, who live in Montgomery County, are all fans of the Baltimore Orioles. Since farming is his addiction, he also manages a herd of cattle with Rocklands Farm CEO Greg Glenn. They practice rotational grazing, which amounts to moving the cows extremely often and try to emulate natural grazing patterns as much possible within the constraints of their land.
Currently pursuing a graduate degree in geographic information systems through UMD's Geography department, Townsend anticipates the hardest part of his job being time management. Between family, working, getting his degree, and cattle management, he knows it'll be difficult, but he already has plans for the next few months.
"Obviously, I'll go to the Frederick Fair and the state fair in September and I'll be at the Commodity Classic," Townsend said.
