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