Conferences
Building Resilience: Modernizing Farm Financial Data Access and Risk Management Tools for Maryland Producers
Elizabeth Thilmany, Shannon Dill, and Paul Goeringer
Summary
Maryland’s agricultural producers face rising input costs, limited land access, and regulatory pressures. To address these issues, our project has developed a user-friendly website that simplifies budgeting and centralizes access to critical financial data estimates, including crop budgets, rental rates, and market analysis. This tool will be supported by educational materials such as documentation and instructional videos to enhance accessibility and usability.
Our collaborative approach has engaged a diverse “beta team” of Maryland producers and agriculture service providers, who have been providing feedback to ensure the tool’s relevance and usability. Partnering with university departments, state agencies, and private collaborators, we have prioritized functionality and accessibility and have plans for potential multilingual inclusivity to meet the needs of a broad audience.
Key accomplishments include launching the initial website, creating supplementary educational materials, and working with computer science interns and students from diverse disciplines to design the tool. Early feedback has highlighted the importance of hands-on producer engagement, which has improved adoption rates and refined the resource's features. Lessons learned include balancing simplicity with advanced functionality and addressing usability challenges for producers with varying technical skills.
While the full impact is still being evaluated, early feedback indicates the potential for improved efficiency, profitability, and financial resilience among producers. By advancing data literacy and financial management practices, this scalable model has the potential to benefit agricultural communities beyond Maryland.
This presentation will share lessons learned, outcomes achieved, and our learned strategies for engaging educators and producers in co-creating practical risk management tools.
Details
| Conference | 2025 Extension Risk Management Education National Conference |
| Presentation Type | 30-minute Concurrent |