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OCT 2025 | latest news

Talbot SCD Office remains OPEN during the current federal shutdown, however some services provided by NRCS may be interrupted.

 
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2024 Cooperator of the Year - Wye Mills Farm Limited Partnership

OCT 2025 | WYE MILLS, MD

Talbot Soil Conservation District Board of Supervisors is proud to recognize Wye Mills Farm Limited Partnership as our 2024 Cooperator of the Year.

Wye Mills Farm Limited Partnership is owned by Bill Boyd and is a 500+ acre grain operation in the Wye River watershed. Over the past several years, Talbot SCD staff have worked with the Boyd family to design and install several conservation practices to address erosion along field edges. While on site to present the award, a pre-construction meeting was held for the next project, a grade stabilization structure with diversion and rock outlet. The project is expected to be completed over the next few weeks.

Wye Mills Farm Limited Partnership was recognized on Oct. 22, 2025, by Talbot Soil Conservation District, Maryland State Senate, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Maryland Department of Agriculture, for their dedication to commitment to conservation.

Learn more about previous Cooperators of the Year >>

Advocating For Agriculture and Conservation

February 2025 | Annapolis, MD

Representatives from Talbot SCD, Kent SWCD and Dorchester SCD met with local legislators in Annapolis this past month to discuss legislation affecting agriculture and conservation efforts.

John Swaine III, MASCD President and Talbot SCD Chairman, led the discussions with several legislators who represents various areas of Maryland.

Pictured left to right is Johnny Mautz, Maryland State Senator from the 37th District, John Swaine III, Charlie Miller, Kent SWCD Chairman, Robert Baldwin, Kent SWCD Manager, Shawn Smith, Talbot SCD Manager, Karen Houtman, Dorchester SCD Manager.

FSCAP is now Bay Friendly Farms

During the MASCD summer meeting held in August, 2023, the former FSCAP program (Farm Stewardship Certification Assessment Program) was announced to the membership as Bay Friendly Farms program. Rebranding the program to highlight the importance of good stewardship on farmland in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Farmers can now work with the Districts to certify their operation as “Bay Friendly” and receive recognition on their website, bayfriendlyfarms.com, and with a sign for their farm headquarters. To learn more about the program, visit bayfriendlyfarms.com, or stop in the District.

Conservation Spotlight: Wetland Restorations

Talbot SCD Manager, Shawn Smith, and the 2021 Cooperator of the Year, Ernie Burns, discuss the benefits of restoring wetlands on marginal farmland. To view more Maryland Conservation Spotlights, visit @MdAgDept on YouTube.

 

Talbot Soil Conservation District, which formed in 1958, is a sub-division of state government and is one of 23 Conservation Districts throughout the State of Maryland.