PRINCESS ANNE — UMES Extension is offering a free film screening of “Delmarva and the Ground for Change” on Thursday, Nov. 2 in conjunction with its Small Farm Conference at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

The environmental documentary follows three family-owned farming operations on the peninsula working to protect soil health and subsequently, the Chesapeake and Delaware bays.

Filmmaker Karrah Kwasnik highlights Deerfield (Lewes, Delaware), Fair Hill (Chestertown, Maryland) and Harborview (Rock Hall, Maryland) farms as models for environmental stewardship. Their agricultural practices promoting healthy soils helps safeguard working lands from climate change extremes. Some of the key practices for soil health include: cover cropping, no-till, rotational grazing, planting green and sub-surface drip irrigation.

Kwasnik is the U.S. Department of Agriculture Northeast Climate Hub’s digital content manager. She created the film as a way for farmers in critical areas near the bays to share their knowledge and perspectives on environmentally friendly farming. Kwasnik points to statistics showing the highest reported use of no-till on cropland acres in the country is in Maryland and Delaware, 58% and 54%, respectively.

The film screening is open to the public and will be shown at 6 p.m. in the Allen J. Singleton Multipurpose Room in the university’s Student Services Center. No reservation is required. Attendance at the Small Farm Conference, Nov. 2-4, is a ticketed event. Registration for the conference is at www.umes.edu/extension/events.