|
Mr. John E Hall
Principal Agent Emeritus, Agriculture & Natural Resources
Kent County
John E. Hall University of Maryland, Kent County County Extension Director, Extension Educator and Professor President of Chesapeake Fields Institute
709 Morgnec Rd.. Ste. #202 Chestertown, MD 21620
Senior Agent, July 1, 1991 BS. University of Illinois MS, University of Illinois Accounting, University of Baltimore
Hall represents the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and serves as County Extension Director in Kent County, Maryland. Kent County in located on Marylands upper eastern shore. Gross agricultural receipts total well over $60 million in Kent and the surrounding counties. Agriculture still comprises over 65% of the total land use in the area. Agriculture cash grain and oil seed production remains the leading industry for Kent County and the surrounding area.
Hall has made 12 national,1 international, and countless regional and state presentations. He has conducted workshops in farm management, business organizations, grain marketing, organic grain production, nutrient management, and pesticide application usage. He has produced video programs on organic grain production and building value added agricultural enterprises, that have been distributed nationally. Hall has raised approximately $1 million dollars in grants in the past 6 years of his Extension career.
In 1999, Hall organized a community-based needs assessment discussion group that met bi-monthly. Chesapeake Fields Institute (CFI) evolved from this discussion group in 2000. The community-based group has embraced the mission, Preservation Through Profitability. In 2003, CFI launched Chesapeake Fields Farmers LLC, a for-profit to build the infrastructure necessary to develop value added markets for the region. The LLC, has received 2 valued added grants and completed a $1 million equity drive. In 2005, Chesapeake Fields Farmers Cooperative was launched. The cooperative has worked closely with USDA cooperative technical services and Bill Nelson, North Dakota.
In 2005, CFI completed phase 2 of a 4 part feasibility study look at the potential for a visitor center to re-introduce the public to the value of Agriculture and the importance to farmland. In October 2005, CFI launched a capital campaign to purchase land for the business park and visitor center
Area of Expertise:
Organic Grain Prod. Marketing, Value Added Processing, Cooperative Formation