HARRINGTON, Del. – Shawn Patrick Mitchell of Greenwood, a recent graduate of Sussex Tech who plans to study wildlife and fisheries at Frostburg State University, received the Delaware Forestry Association’s 2018 scholarship at the Delaware State Fair last week. Agriculture Secretary Michael T. Scuse and Governor John C. Carney were there to present the ceremonial check to Mitchell as his parents David and Melissa looked on. Once he earns his bachelor’s of science degree, Mitchell hopes to be a game warden or park ranger one day.

Mitchell already has a long list of achievements for which to be proud. A National Honor Society member at Sussex Tech, Mitchell achieved honor roll for every marking period—earning a cumulative GPA of 93.8. He has been very active in the 4-H program, serving as Vice-President of the State Teen Council for Delaware 4-H as well as President, Vice-President, and Treasurer of the Sussex County 4-H Junior Council. He has also been actively involved in athletics as a member of the freshman, J.V., and varsity lacrosse teams at Sussex Tech.

“I would like to return to Delaware after I earn my degree. I love being outside and I want to help preserve our parks for future generations to enjoy,” Mitchell said.

According to C. Douglas Crouse, State Program Leader for Delaware 4-H and Youth Development, Shawn has demonstrated the qualities needed to be a leader and a mentor:

“Shawn has shared his leadership skills as a counselor at many 4-H camps, including our State Environmental Camp. As a counselor for several years, Shawn serves in a role to assist younger members in helping to guide them and share knowledge that can be interesting and important to them. He is a people person and has great skills working with younger members. Shawn is an excellent role model and mentor for these younger youth and is well-respected by his peers, ” Crouse said.

DOVER – Governor John C. Carney, Jr. presided over the Delaware Forest Service’s 2018 Arbor Day Celebration at DNERR St. Jones Reserve in Dover on Friday, May 4.

Joined by Rep. Harvey Kenton, Rep. David Wilson, Agriculture Secretary Michael T. Scuse, and DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin, Governor Carney honored the winners of the Delaware Forest Service’s Arbor Day School Poster Contest, including Statewide Winner Amelia Meyer of Southern Delaware School of the Arts in Selbyville. The 2018 poster contest theme was “Trees are Terrific… and Perfect for Pollinators!” The Governor also recognized representatives from some of Delaware’s 17 Tree City USA communities, including Dover Air Force Base and Arden. The event culminated with the ceremonial planting of two new hawthorn trees, part of a new “science garden” at the reserve,  in keeping the 2018 poster contest theme and its focus on pollinators.

Click here for a photo gallery of the 2018 Arbor Day Poster Contest winners

2018 Arbor Day Poster Contest Winners

New Castle County Winners

Kindergarten – Jade Munoz-Martinez- Academia Antonia Alonso, Wilmington
Grade 1-2 – Makalani Collins -Jennie Smith Elementary, New Castle
Grade 3-4 – Madison Butts – Heritage Elementary, Wilmington
Grade 5 – Chase Puszkarczuk – Heritage Elementary, Wilmington

Kent County Winners

Kindergarten – Audriana Friday – McIlvaine Early Childhood Center, Magnolia
Grade 1-2 – MaKenna Barclay – Nellie Stokes Elementary, Dover
Grade 3-4 – Gianni Coblentz – Hartly Elementary, Hartly
Grade 5 – Jacob Simons – W.B. Simpson Elementary, Wyoming

Sussex County Winners

Kindergarten – Michael Foracre – Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary, Laurel
Grade 1-2 – Yojana Garcia-Lopez – Mispillion Elementary, Milford
Grade 3-4 – Samantha Geidel – Southern Delaware School of Arts, Selbyville
Grade 5 – Amelia Meyer – Southern Delaware School of Arts, Selbyville

Each poster contest winner received a tree-themed book and a print reproduction of their poster on fine art canvas. Thanks to corporate sponsor Delmarva Power, a free tree planting ceremony will also be held at each winner’s school. In addition, every participating classroom receives free pine seedlings for all participants. Once again this year, students from the Middletown High School FFA Chapter and senior volunteers from the Modern Maturity Center in Dover are wrapping thousands of seedlings to distribute to schoolchildren statewide. Check out the previous year’s winners:

• View 2017 Arbor Day Contest Winners
• View 2016 Arbor Day Contest Winners
• View 2015 Arbor Day Contest Winners
• View 2014 Arbor Day Contest Winners

For more information, email: Ashley Melvin

DOVER, Del. – Beginning in December, farmers in Delaware and Maryland will have the opportunity to make a positive impact on their communities and industry by taking part in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, the census, starting to be mailed out this week, is a complete count of all U.S. farms, ranches, and those who operate them.

Census data are used by all those who serve farmers and rural communities from federal, state and local governments to agribusinesses, trade associations, researchers, and many others. For example, public officials use the data when shaping farm policy, and agribusinesses factor it into their planning efforts.

“Your answers to the census impact farm programs and rural services that support your community,” said Joe Bartenfelder, Maryland Secretary of Agriculture. “Good policies and services are rooted in quality data. We want all farms counted because there’s strength in numbers that only the census can reveal,” said Michael Scuse, Delaware Secretary of Agriculture.

This year, NASS has extensively revised the online census questionnaire at www.agcounts.usda.gov to make it more convenient for producers. Farmers can either mail in their completed census form or take advantage of new time-saving features by responding online. The online system calculates totals for the producer and skips sections that do not pertain to the operation. The census response deadline is February 5, 2018, with results of the census released in 2019.

In the 2012 census, Delaware farmers reported a total of 2,451 farms, spanning over 508 thousand acres. These numbers represented four percent decrease in the number and Delaware farms from the previous census in 2007. Market value of agricultural products sold was $1.3 billion, an increase of 18 percent from the previous census for Delaware. This telling information and thousands of additional farm and ranch statistics are only available every five years, as a direct result of responses to the census.

“The census remains the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the nation,” said Dale P. Hawks, Maryland/Delaware State Statistician for USDA’s NASS Northeastern Region. “It’s a critical tool that gives producers a voice and opportunity to influence decisions that will shape the future of their operations, communities, and industries.”

The 2017 Census of Agriculture will collect new information including data on active service and military veteran farmers, as well as expanded questions on food marketing practices and on-farm decision-making to better capture the roles and contributions of beginning farmers, women farmers, and other involved in running the business.

For more information about the upcoming census, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov or call (888) 424-7828.

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Media Contact: Stacey Hofmann, 302-698-4542, Stacey.Hofmann@delaware.gov

HARRINGTON (July 27) – Governor John C. Carney, Jr. and Secretary of Agriculture Michael T. Scuse celebrated the 90th anniversary of the Delaware Forest Service and honored the wildfire crew that just returned from two weeks battling blazes in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The crew, which left the First State on July 8 and returned on July 23, first tackled the 700-acre Wilson Fire near Meeker, Colorado – started by lightning on July 7. The firefighters then moved on to the Grizzly Fire before finishing up on the Dragon Fire – located just south of Rangely, Colorado. Delaware’s team included 17 state and federal firefighters from Delaware and three from West Virginia.

“The Forest Service has done unbelievable work over 90 years,” Governor Carney told the audience. “As we celebrate 98 years of the Delaware State Fair, we’ve got a lot of other milestones that are happening, including the recognition of Delaware’s state forestry service for 90 years of operation and their tremendous work.”

Photos from the event are available on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/delforestservice or on Flickr at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/101649897@N02/

During the ceremony at the Delaware State Fair, state forester Michael A. Valenti presented a timeline of major accomplishments and highlights in the 90 years since the Delaware General Assembly established the state’s forestry department on April 25, 1927.

1927: Senate Bill 16 in the General Assembly establishes the State Forestry Department with the agency charged with fire control, state tree nursery, and demonstration areas. William S. Taber was appointed the first State Forester and served for 43 years until 1970.
1930: 173 fires burned nearly 30,000 acres. Six fire towers were erected beginning in 1931 and a system of fire wardens was established.
1936: The Gun Club property (844 acres) was purchased for $7,000 ($8.30/acre). Consisting of the historic Redden Lodge, it became the core area for Redden State Forest, now Delaware’s largest.
1939: American holly is named the state tree, due to its commercial importance and Delaware’s status as the “Holly Capital of the Nation.”
1941: The 672-acre Tybout Tract was purchased in southern New Castle County. It became the cornerstone of Blackbird State Forest, now more than 6,000 acres.
1959: The first Delaware Tree Farm was recognized (O.A. Newton and Son)
1970: DNREC takes over management of State Forests and fire control while DDA manages state nursery and landowner assistance
1974: House Bill 770 transfers all forestry functions over to the DDA
1994: State forestlands in southwestern Kent County recognized as Taber State Forest
1999: State Forests total about 10,000 acres
2017: The Delaware Forest Service has 23 staff members including six field foresters and two urban and community foresters. Delaware’s state forests now total just over 20,000 acres (thanks to funding from Delaware Open Space/U.S. Forest Legacy Program)

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DOVER, Del. – U.S. Senator Thomas R. Carper joined public officials and schoolchildren to observe “Delaware Arbor Day” at Dover Air Force Base, which celebrated its 25th Year as a Tree City USA. The last Friday in April is commemorated as Arbor Day in the First State, an occasion to encourage tree planting and highlight the numerous benefits that trees provide: cleaner air and water, natural beauty, valuable wood products and food, reduced storm water runoff, and improved property values. The ceremony also honored the winners of the Delaware Forest Service’s annual school poster contest and included a ceremonial tree planting of an American holly (Ilex opaca), Delaware’s state tree. Alaina Stecher, a fifth-grader at Christ the Teacher School in Newark, is the statewide winner of the Delaware Forest Service’s annual Arbor Day School Poster Contest. This year’s theme was “Trees are terrific… from acorn to oak!”  The complete gallery of winning posters (with links to hi-res images) is at http://delawaretrees.com/2017arbordaypostercontest

Established by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska on April 10, 1872, it is estimated that one million trees were planted on the very first Arbor Day.

Additional photos of the event can be found at the Delaware Forest Service’s Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/delforestservice.

The annual school poster contest is open to all K-5 public, private, and charter schools as well as other organized youth groups and after-school programs. A total of 126 classrooms from 40 schools participated in this year’s contest, with 3,647 students creating original posters. Winners were selected from each county in the following grade categories: K, 1 & 2, 3 & 4, and 5. Judging criteria were: originality, use of theme, neatness, and artistic expression. Each winner receives a tree-themed book and a print reproduction of their poster on fine art canvas. Thanks to corporate sponsor Delmarva Power, a free tree planting ceremony will also be held at each winner’s school. In addition, every participating classroom receives free pine seedlings for all participants. This year, students from the Middletown High School FFA Chapter and senior volunteers from the Modern Maturity Center in Dover wrapped thousands of seedlings for schoolchildren statewide.

This year’s poster contest winners were:

New Castle County

Kindergarten: Emily Najera  — Robert S. Gallaher  Elementary, Newark

Grades 1-2: Amy Tang — Jennie Smith Elementary, New Castle

Grades 3-4: John Chacko —  Christ the Teacher School, Newark

Grade 5:  Alaina Stecher  — Christ the Teacher School, Newark

Kent County

Kindergarten Audriana Bourne  — Major George Welch Elementary, Dover

Grades 1-2: Isabelle Kim —   WB Simpson Elementary, Wyoming

Grade 3-4: Haley Holderman— WB Simpson Elementary, Wyoming

Grade 5: Hailey McCutchan —  Clayton Intermediate School, Clayton

Sussex County

Kindergarten: Maryia Dorakhava —  Rehoboth Elementary, Rehoboth

Grades 1-2: Shannon Scudder —  Lord Baltimore Elementary, Ocean View

Grades 3-4: Amelia Meyer —  Southern Delaware School of Arts, Selbyville

Grade 5: Samuel Winston  —  Winston Learning Academy, Milford