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CENTREVILLE – Once again “A Maryland Agriculture Tradition” attracted hundreds of grain and soybean farmers from across the state Thursday, July 23, 2026, to the Queen Anne’s County 4-H Park near Centreville for the 28th Maryland Commodity Classic.
The event featured remarks by keynote speaker U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary Richard Fordyce, Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks, and U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action CEO Kevin Burkum, who shared highlights of a recently released biofuels report.
Bookended by coffee and donuts when the gates opened at 7:30 a.m. and the popular crab feast and pork and chicken barbecue at 3:30 p.m., farmers attended seminars and training, visited vendor and organization displays and gathered for a 2-hour business meeting that featured awards and scholarships.
The Maryland Commodity Classic was hosted by the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board (MGPUB), the Maryland Grain Producers Association (MGPA), the Mid-Atlantic Soybean Association and the Maryland Soybean Board. Over 50 businesses and organizations sponsored the event.
Atticks spent a couple of hours at the event, which he called “a phenomenal opportunity for the industry to connect, not only with incredible service providers, but to engage in conversations amongst farmers and share experiences, share how the year is going.”
“It's been a particularly challenging year for a lot of growers, and so there's also a great opportunity to connect with USDA here (and) hear about the programs that support growers and help when we get in a bind,” Atticks told the Caroline Review.
Of the four top scholarship winners who are studying agriculture, David Saathoff, son of Danny and Beverly Saathoff of Ridgely, earned a $3,000 scholarship. He is a rising junior at Iowa State University and plans to return to the family farm when he graduates.
The Maryland Grain Producers Association (MGPA) presented 10 students with scholarships and three farmers with $2,000 grants to help them obtain a CDL license. A total of $27,000 in scholarship and grant funding was awarded.
Besides scholarships, “the MGPA serves as the voice of Maryland grain farmers, representing and protecting the interests of our industry across the state,” said MGPA Vice President Rob Davis of Kent County. “Our presence in Annapolis is essential to ensuring a strong future for Maryland agriculture.”
He said the 2026 legislative session was “one of the most successful we can remember, with more MGPA-supported bills becoming law than in recent years.”
“Among the highlights was passage of the Charles J. Otto Agricultural Education Promise Act, which provides funding for agricultural fairs and education programs,” Davis said. “The state budget also included increased funding for both the Maryland Ag Land Preservation Foundation and Maryland Agricultural Cost-Share Program (MACS). Just as importantly, several proposals that would have harmed Maryland agriculture were successfully defeated. One of the most significant would have banned neonicotinoid-treated seed, threatening both seed availability and important soil protection practices for grain farmers.”
Davis also highlighted the grain bin safety tube program that provides rescue tubes to fire departments across Maryland. The program is funded by MGPA and partner, Nationwide Insurance.
MGPUB funded 19 check-off funded projects that were featured at the trade show or as seminar topics. Among the projects were Agronomic Drone School, the Maryland FFA Foundation, Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, Maryland Farm and Harvest on Maryland Public Television, and seminars on best practices.
MGPUB was formed in 1991 to administer Maryland’s Grain Check-off Program. Check-off funds can be used to promote greater utilization of grain through expanded promotion, research, education, information, and other similar activities. One-half of one percent of the value of each bushel of corn and other grains produced and sold in Maryland are remitted to the program.
In 2026, check-off dollars funded 11 research grants totaling $271,595, nine market development grants totaling $483,489, and 18 education grants totaling $336,725.
Since its founding “more than $27 million in farmer checkoff dollars has been invested,” MGPUB President Matt Morris said. “The check-off is refundable, and we're proud that farmers continue to demonstrate their confidence in the program, and with an overall refund rate of just 3%.”
The business meeting was held outdoors in the main show ring with temperatures in the comfortable mid-80s and uncharacteristically low humidity. Asking for a round of applause for the weather was emcee Lindsay Thompson of Queenstown, executive director of the Maryland Grain Producers Association and MGPUB.
Atticks addressed the large crowd and discussed “ a couple of bad drought years,” a 2-hour winter freeze that wreaked havoc, and uneven rainfall; the development of the craft brewing; and distilling industries using Maryland-grown grain and a retooling of the department’s marketing program, which is now called Marketing and Ag Development.
Besides marketing and supporting farmers, Atticks said, “We want to keep evolving as you're doing, but we want to help answer the question of the many new farmers who call us and say, ‘What should I grow? I want to do this, I want to build that: what's the permitting? Why do I have to engage with the health department or the Department of Environment? And you'll have someone in the state now going forward that can answer those questions and help navigate farms through that process. That's based on a lot of feedback that we've received.”
Burkum shared how “agriculture today is at a crossroads,” explaining how input costs like fertilizer and fuel are not offset by crop prices, “which have stayed mostly flat,” he said.
Citing several examples of financial pressures facing farmers, he said the good news is that biofuels could be part of the solution, providing growth in several sectors of the U.S. economy.
“Our critics point out is that we need more land to do this,” Burkum said. “We can use existing land and still meet the needs that we have for food, for fuel, and also for feed. Food versus fuel needs to be a debate that goes away.”
“Agriculture can help solve some of the world's greatest challenges.,” he said. “We're talking about food security, energy security, economic security, and this report shows the way, with biofuels helping to unlock that potential.” The S&P Global Energy report, commissioned by USFRA, is available at fuelingagriculture.com.
Several awards were given to those making a difference in Maryland agriculture. Winning the prestigious Dr. James R. Miller Award was Mark Powell, retired journalist and former chief of agriculture and seafood marketing at MDA. Established in 1988, the award recognizes a professional non-grower or farmer leader for contributions to the grain industry. “He has been one of the Maryland grain industry’s greatest ambassadors,” Thompson said.
Charles “Jamie” Jamison of Poolesville won the Lawrence E. Meeks Farmer Lifetime of Service Award, established in 2024 to recognize farmers who have dedicated their lives giving back to the agricultural community through organizations.
Established in 2026 in memory of the late state legislator from Wicomico County, the Charles J. Otto Legislator of the Year Award was given to Del. Natalie Ziegler, D-9A, a farmer from Howard County. “This award honors legislators who demonstrate exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to agriculture,” Thompson said.
MDA Assistant Secretary for Resource Conservation Hans Schmidt, who farms with his wife Jenny near Sudlersville, received the Service to Agriculture Award.
The Honorary Agricultural Agent Award went to Chip Bowling of Charles County.
Yield contests for corn, sorghum and soybean growers produced some top winners from the Mid-Shore.
For the 2026 National Corn Growers Association Yield Contest, Robert Diefenderfer of Talbot County won first place in the National Sorghum Producers Yield Contest.
Also winning in the corn yield contest were, for conventional non-irrigated – James Schillinger of Centreville, second place, and Timothy Wilkins of Trappe, third; no-till non-irrigated – Mark Debnam of Millington, second place, and Charlie Leager of Queenstown, third; conventional irrigated – James Schillinger, second place, and William Riggs of Church Hill, third; no-till irrigated – Bruce Bartz of Denton, second place, and Christopher Davis of Galena, third; strip, min, mulch, ridge-till irrigated – Jason Sheubrooks of Sudersville, first place, and David Denny of Queen Anne, third.
“In 2025, we launched the inaugural Maryland Soybean Yield Contest to recognize exceptional yields while learning from the production practices that make them possible,” Maryland Soybean Board President Eddie Boyle of Cordova told the crowd. “The contest celebrates excellence, encourages the sharing of innovative farming practices and showcases what Maryland soybean farmers can achieve.”
Winners were Hutchison Brothers of Cordova, who garnered top honors in both double crop and non-irrigated categories. Overall contest champion was Chris Weaver of Finksburg, “who put Maryland on the global stage by setting a new world record with an incredible yield of 156.73 bushels per acre,” Boyle said.
Fordyce, a grain and dairy farmer from Missouri, talked about his transition to his “fast-paced job” at the USDA, and briefly touched on policy development. “We've been very busy implementing the provisions in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act across all three of our farmer-facing agencies,” he said. He also discussed safety net programs and streamlining bureaucracy.
The MDA Secretary shared with the Caroline Review his thoughts on agritourism and preserving the state’s best farmland.
Besides diversifying their operation, farmers who choose to pursue agritourism “see that as an great opportunity to grow their market, enter new markets and find new revenue,” he said. “We know from research and also lots of anecdotal conversations that the general public is highly, highly interested in farm activity, getting their hands dirty, learning what goes on behind the scenes. And if you've got a product to sell them, they're ready and willing buyers.”
As for balancing agriculture and green energy, Atticks said, “Our position's been clear: the best farmland needs to continue to be farmland. It is the highest and best use, hard stop. Solar needs to be on built environments. Solar needs to be on every rooftop. Solar needs to be on marginal land.”
