CommonGround Farmers
Love for the land, our families, our friends and our food – that’s what fuels our CommonGround community. Scroll down to learn where our volunteers are located, or Contact Us to get involved.
CommonGround Maryland
Back to Our Farmers
Hannah Amoss
White Hall, Maryland
Our Farm: beef cattle, vegetables, vineyard
My Work: farmer, first-grade teacher
My Hobbies: baking, travel, spending time with my family and friends
Ask Me About: animal nutrition and welfare, food safety
About Me: I believe that the future of our country truly rests upon our students. Therefore, I work hard to educate students through engaging methods. As a teacher, I work hard to stay up-to-date on new teaching trends and activities that will promote learning in my first-grade classroom.

Jessica Armacost
Parkton, Maryland
Our Farm: beef cattle, corn, hay, soybeans
My Work: farmer, mom, director of youth ministries, office manager for a landscaping business
My Hobbies: biking, fitness, reading, volunteering
Ask Me About: sustainability, animal nutrition and welfare, food safety
About Me: Growing up in the suburbs I knew very little about how food was grown or prepared, but I was fortunate to learn about agriculture through 4-H and married into a farm family. As a mom to three boys, I am always looking for ways to include healthy fresh food into their daily diet. We are blessed to be able to grow most of the food we eat and I enjoy sharing the agriculture story with fellow moms and my community. My family is committed to being good stewards of the land and good caretakers of our cattle.

Linda Burrier
Union Bridge, Maryland
Our Farm: alfalfa, corn, soybeans, wheat
My Work: farmer, wife, mom
My Hobbies: photography, arts and crafts, gardening
Ask Me About: sustainability and conservation
About Me: I keep busy during all the seasons. I tend, rake and bale hay; run the fertilizer vehicle during straw-planting season; run the grain cart; and do some combining during harvest. I also run for parts and keep the home fire burning.
Instagram: @BurrierFarms

Amy Cawley
Denton, Maryland
Our Farm: Christmas trees, corn, soybeans, wheat
My Work: farmer, coordinator at a food bank
My Hobbies: writing, photography, running, movies, reading, overall fitness, hiking, scrapbooking, sports
Ask Me About: local and organic foods
About Me: In 1998, my father began our family Christmas tree business, where I assist with planting, harvesting and selling Christmas trees and wreaths. I also work fulltime as the coordinator with the Maryland Foodbank. In my free time from the foodbank and family farm, I assist a local wholesale produce stand that raises annual and perennial bedding plants and produce.
Facebook: Cawley Tree Farm, LLC, Farm to Food Bank Program, Clayton Farms

Susan Cox
Prince Frederick, Maryland
Our Farm: beef cattle, corn, oats, soybeans and wheat
My Work: farmer, wife, mom, teacher
My Hobbies: baking, cooking, fitness, singing
Ask Me About: local and organic foods, food safety, family farms
About Me: My husband and I raise crops and animals on our farm, along with our children. As a retired teacher, I think it’s so important to share with children and adults how food and farming impacts their daily lives. As a family, we host events and field trips for the community on our farm and bring the food we harvest to a local farm stand. I also volunteer with an “Ag in the Classroom” program, where we bring farm-related programs to local schools. We enjoy sharing our passion for farming with others.
Website: Spider Hall Farm

Jennifer Cross
Brandywine, Maryland
Our Farm: corn, soybeans, straw
My Work: farmer, wife, mom, volunteer firefighter, secretary/treasurer of Prince George’s County Farm Bureau
My Hobbies: baking, cooking, travel, reading, gardening
Ask Me About: food safety
About Me: My family owns and operates two farm-supply stores, where we provide farmers with a variety of feed, seed, fuel and information. I also enjoy giving back to my community by volunteering. I am an associate member of the Baden Volunteer Fire Department and help out at the National Police Week every year.

Jennifer Debnam
Kennedyville, Maryland
Our Farm: pigs
My Work: farmer, wife, mom
My Hobbies: 4-H leader, watching my kids’ sporting events and livestock shows, Baltimore Ravens football
Ask Me About: animal nutrition and welfare
About Me: I enjoy being a leader in the agriculture community. I am the director of the Kent County Farm Bureau, president of the Maryland Pork Producers Association and serve on two advisory committees for the Maryland Farm Bureau. I believe that my leadership in these organizations will help to advance agriculture in Maryland.

Brenda Holloway
Darlington, Maryland
Our Farm: beef cattle, goats, pigs
My Work: farmer, wife, mom, farm store owner and operator
My Hobbies: biking, reading, overall fitness, hiking
Ask Me About: antibiotics in animals
About Me: I am amazed at the amount of misinformation out there today regarding agriculture. I think it is very important to share how farmers do an amazing job of providing a safe, abundant food supply. Although we have a farm with cattle, hogs and goats, our time is mostly devoted to the six farm-and-feed stores that we operate. We are very involved with the agricultural community and feel very strongly about improving the vitality of the industry.

Paula Linthicum
Laytonsville, Maryland
Our Farm: corn, beef cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, soybeans, wheat
My Work: farmer, wife, mom
My Hobbies: baking, boating/fishing, cooking, overall fitness
Ask Me About: animal welfare, food safety, GMO foods, farm ownership, sustainability
About Me: In addition to being a wife and mother, our family owns and operates a 1,000-acre grain and livestock farm in central Maryland, about 30 miles north of Washington, D.C. Three generations work together on our family farm. My husband’s family has farmed in our county since 1826. We aim to be good stewards of the land by using soil-conservation practices and taking good care of our animals.
Facebook: Seneca Ayr Farms

Amanda Miller
Rising Sun, Maryland
Our Farm: alfalfa, corn, dairy cattle, soybeans, vegetables, wheat
My Work: farmer, agronomist, certified crop advisor, consultant
My Hobbies: arts and crafts, baking, blogging, cooking, traveling, writing
Ask Me About: animal welfare, antibiotics and animal health, farm ownership, organic and local foods, sustainability
About Me: I dabble in a little bit of everything. I live with my boyfriend on his family’s dairy farm. I help with milking, feeding and making hay. I also raise chickens for eggs and numerous vegetables to sell at our farm stand and farmer’s markets. In the future, my boyfriend and I would like to work toward starting a creamery on the farm, because making cheese is a dream of mine.
Facebook: Delmarva Crop Queen
Instagram: Mason Dixie Farm

Meredith Null
Mt. Airy, Maryland
Our Farm: beef cattle, sheep
My Work: farmer, wife, mom, registered nurse
My Hobbies: arts and crafts, baking, photography
Ask Me About: animal welfare, antibiotics and animal health, food safety, hormones in meat and milk, sustainability
About Me: Being a nurse as well as a farmer gives me a unique perspective. I majored in animal science with an emphasis in dairy at University of Connecticut. In my free time, I enjoy singing and hiking. I am in the process of starting my own blog to teach people about the inside workings of a farm and how we as farmers connect what we do to life off the farm. My husband and I would eventually like to offer classes on our farm to teach about everything from gardening and canning to spinning and weaving.
Facebook: Blue Land Farm

Jennifer Schmidt
Sudlersville, Maryland
Our Farm: alfalfa, grain, grapes, vegetables
My Work: farmer, wife, mom, registered dietitian
My Hobbies: reading, traveling and scrapbooking
Ask Me About: biotechnology, pesticide use, sustainability in agriculture, differences between conventional and organic farming
About Me: I am not only a farmer, but also a registered dietitian by trade. So I not only know about producing food, but its nutritional value, too. I enjoy using my knowledge to speak at agriculture organization meetings around the country, nutrition and dietetics association meetings and before other groups interested in learning the reality of running a sustainable family farm. I am the first female officer of the Maryland Grain Producers Utilization Board and also serve as the Maryland delegate to the U.S. Wheat Foods Council.
Facebook: The Foodie Farmer
Twitter: @FarmGirlJen
Blog: The Foodie Farmer

Mary Stewart
Pylesville, Maryland
Our Farm: alfalfa, corn, dairy cattle, soybeans, wheat
My Work: farmer, wife, mom
My Hobbies: baking, writing, photography, arts and crafts, gardening and landscaping
Ask Me About: biotechnology and GMOs, local and organic foods, animal nutrition and welfare, hormones in meat and milk, food safety, family farms vs. corporate farms
About Me: My parents instilled a love of agriculture in me while I grew up on our family dairy farm, and I hope to instill those same values in our daughter and twin sons. I married a full-time farmer, who is also a seed salesman. We custom plant, spray and harvest for other farmers, in addition to working on our farm. I help with the marketing, record keeping, raking hay, moving wagons and escorting machinery wherever it needs to go.

Shelby Watson-Hampton
Waldorf, Maryland
Our Farm: vineyard
My Work: farmer, wife, marketing specialist
My Hobbies: writing, photography, blogging, travel, reading, horses
Ask Me About: family farms vs. corporate farms
About Me: Along with my husband and aunt, I operate our vineyard. In my opinion, the best thing about farming is working with your family on the farm – pouring your blood, sweat and tears into something that you really believe in and care about. We’re so blessed to be able to continue to work the farm and keep it in the family. That is what makes the long days and nights worth it!
Facebook: The Farmed Life
Twitter: @TheFarmedLife