In 2024, the Utilization Board Funded 16 grants at $420,750. Read about the 2023 check-off funded grants success below!

LEAD Maryland

  • Funded $25,000 in 2023.
  • LEAD Maryland identifies and develops leaders to serve agriculture and rural communities by providing educational, training, and personal growth opportunities for program participants, called Fellows. Curriculum is delivered to Fellows primarily through a series of multi-day seminars and an international study tour. Fellows learn more about public issues, hone leadership skills, and expand professional networks.
  • A new class of 25 Fellows met for their first seminar in January of 2022. Fellows completed additional 3-day seminars in March, May, September, and November 2022, with each seminar hosted by a different region within Maryland. In September, Fellows explored more in-depth the Chesapeake Bay watershed, restoration, and conservation. Later in November, Fellows gained a larger understanding of the poultry industry and their relationship with Maryland’s grain industry. Learn more about LEAD Maryland online here.

Road Safety Campaign | Maryland Soybean Board

  • Funded $18,700 in 2023.
  • The Maryland Soybean Board embarked on a Road Safety Campaign to address the growth of dangerous encounters between motorists and drivers of slow-moving vehicles on public roads in response to their Rural Road Safety Study. Implementation of this community awareness campaign calls attention to the unique measures required to drive safely near farm equipment and similar slow-moving vehicles. Utilizing the campaign www.FindMeDriving.com website and affiliated social media platforms, safe driving messaging was shared. A Tractor College for farmers and their employees was conducted to disseminate information on legal requirements and best practices for operating farm trucks, machinery, and slow-moving vehicles. Educational materials, featuring the campaign mascot SAM, were distributed at community events statewide. With supporting partners, the overall campaign has reached millions of drivers through billboards, public exhibits, social media, and online advertising to decrease the amount of, cost, and severity of farm vehicle-related crashes on Maryland roads.

Amplifying Leadership | U.S. Farmers in Ranchers in Action

  • Funded $65,000 in 2023.
  • Maryland grain check-off funds helped U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action deliver four specific program areas! Farm Table brings farmers and ranchers together to amplify their voices on a national scale. Board member, Jennie Schmidt was featured in May! Food 360 works with farm and food leaders to co-create 21st-century food systems. Food Hive coordinates with partners and stakeholders and provides awareness of U.S. farming and its role in the global food system. Lastly, Science Sense Program has world-class scientists and sustainability professionals who collaborate to accelerate action on sustainable food and ag research. Learn more about USFRA here.

Addressing Consumer Questions about Food & Farm | CommonGround

  • Funded $15,000 in 2023.
  • The CommonGround program provides volunteer farmers opportunities to reach consumers with a positive, factual story of agriculture. The goal is to build trust between consumers and farmers in the food system, showing that farmers share consumers’ values and concerns. Mid-Atlantic volunteers resulted in conversations and information sharing with more than 160,000 consumers through presentations, exhibits, and social media. Farm stories are shared with credible, third-party science and research to increase consumer trust. Information is presented following the CommonGround philosophy of being inclusive of all types of agriculture and farming methods, speaking with a positive attitude, providing credible information with science-based facts, and using real stories from the farm. Check it out here.

Providing FFA Program Incentives

  • Funded $14,500 in 2023.
  • The 2022 MGPUB Grant helped the Maryland FFA Foundation provide valuable educational and leadership experiences for students. Funds were also used to support Career Development Events, convention speakers, and workshops for the Regional Leadership Conference. Students benefited from these funds by testing their skills, hearing from outstanding speakers, and exploring new ideas and leadership skills.

My Maryland Farmers | Maryland Soybean Board

Maryland Envirothon

  • Funded $5,000 in 2023.
  • Educating tomorrow’s decision-makers on the importance of conservation is vital to the health of our agriculture, natural resources, and the Chesapeake Bay. The 2022 MD Envirothon helped students become more involved in protecting natural resources by challenging their problem-solving skills and instilling a sense of stewardship in these future leaders. Statewide, over 500 students participated and check-off funds were presented as scholarship checks to each student on the first, second, and third-place teams at the conclusion of the event.

Kids Growing With Grains | University of Maryland Extension

  • Funded $2,000 in 2023.
  • The Washington County 4-H Youth Development Program, a part of the University of Maryland Extension, presented an agricultural education and literacy program for all schools in the county. Since 2012, 3,706 students have taken part in this program, which has provided over 22,236 contact hours of positive youth development and experiential ag education. The program is comprised of five sessions that are designed to educate youth about the importance of agriculture, the utilization of grains in the diets of people and livestock, the nutritional value of whole grains, and how to identify food products made from grains.

Maryland Farm and Harvest | Maryland Public Television

  • Funded $175,000 in 2023.
  • A multimedia series that puts a human face to farming, Maryland Public Television recently launched its tenth season! Viewers travel the state to see and experience what it is like to run a 21st-century farm. As MPT’s #1 rated regional show, Maryland Farm and Harvest has attracted over 15 million viewers. This year, Farm and Harvest cover 14 stories related to grain production and use. You can view these segments every Tuesday at 7 PM or online here.

Mobile Science Lab & Showcase | Maryland Agriculture Education Foundation

  • Funded $5,000 in 2023.
  • The Maryland Agriculture Education Foundation conducts numerous programs throughout the year in an effort to increase the ag literacy of Maryland’s students, educators, and citizens. MAEF’s Amazing! Maryland Agriculture Showcase engages consumers of all ages at fairs, festivals, and other large events across the state. Seven schools, reaching 4,500 students, in Central Maryland, took advantage of rebooking sponsorships in addition to a showcase visit. Check-off funding also supported three fairs allowing fairgoers to view the many aspects of agriculture. To support agriculture education, purchase an ag tag for your vehicle! Learn more here.

Close Encounters with Agriculture

  • Funded $7,000 in 2023.
  • Working with the University of Maryland Extension, Close Encounters with Agriculture is an in-person field trip program designed to promote and increase the understanding of agriculture among urban youth and their families. The program is intended for public and private school 4th-grade students in Montgomery County and reached 3,448 students in 2022. The program demonstrates the inter-relationships and positive aspects of production agriculture, nutrition, and the environment. Learn more here.

Lower Shore Doe Harvest Challenge

  • Funded $5,000 in 2023.
  • The lower Eastern Shore counties of Dorchester, Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset Farm Bureaus held the annual Doe Harvest Challenge during the 2023 Maryland firearms deer season, January 6-8. This contest was initiated to incentivize hunters to kill does during the late season hunt. For the 2023 contest, three $1,000 prizes for each county were awarded and all processing fees were covered for deer being donated to the Maryland Food Bank. This years contest brought in 346 deer, with 20 processed and packaged deer being donated to the Maryland Food Bank. 

Other Funded Grants

  • Queen Anne’s County FFA Chapter was funded $400 for a field trip to Perdue Farms.
  • Junior Achievement was funded $5,000 to interact with 3,000 students through a two-day event, more here.
  • Nationwide was funded $20,000 to secure four grain safety tubes across the state of Maryland in 2023. Check-off dollars supported four tubes in 2022 and placed in Alleghany, Charles, St. Mary’s, and Wicomcio Counties.