It takes place at its UMD Land Lab and Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP) Farm, 3568 Riley Road, and is free and open to the public.
Randy Hanson, director of the UMD Land Lab, says he and his team will offer guided tours of the 15-acre organic farm and share what they’re learning about food production, sustainability, and a community-based food system.
Operation Integration
Farm Field Day visitors will see several new projects at the eight-year-old operation, including the integration of the controlled environmental agriculture operation Victus Farms.
From 2011 until 2016, Victus Farms was in Silver Bay, Minn. With the completion of the UMD Land Lab’s new 24 by 72-foot hoop house this month, Victus Farm is becoming part of its activities.
In addition to growing, researchers will use the new hoop house to compare the inputs of hydroponics, bio intensive agriculture (growing maximum yield with minimum land), and organic agriculture.
“We’ll again demonstrate and continue to work to improve a simple, low cost, environmentally sustainable and economically viable production approach at the Sustainable Agriculture Project,” says Michael Mageau, assistant professor and director of the Environment & Sustainability Program at UMD.
About the Farm
The UMD Land Lab utilizes land from the former Northeast Agricultural Experimental Station (1912 – 1976). It was revitalized in 2009 as the Sustainable Agriculture Project, later being re-named the UMD Land Lab.
It’s dedicated to building a more sustainable campus by providing fresh, organically-grown produce to Dining Services, managing a landscape-scale classroom for students to learn lessons of sustainability, and engaging with our community partners in sustainability-oriented projects.
The UMD Land Lab was named one of the 35 best college farms in the country by College Rank, a website dedicated to evaluating and ranking college programs and experiences, last winter.