The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a historically Black educational institution in Princess Anne, has purchased a 20-acre tract of land near its main campus from Perdue Farms. The property includes a 10,000-square-foot warehouse and a 2,300-square-foot farmhouse. The purchase price was $550,000.
In the spring of 2013, the university had purchased 365 acres of farmland adjacent to the latest acquisition. The existing structures on the newly acquired property will enable the university to begin instruction and research operations at the farm site much sooner than if construction was necessary. The existing warehouse and farmhouse will be used for offices, storage, classrooms, and research laboratories for the School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences.
Moses T.K. Kairo, dean of the School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, stated that “the farm will support research activities focused on specialty-crop production and precision agriculture, and natural resources and environmental sustainability.” He added that the farm, located two miles from the main campus, “will provide a significant resource to enhance both undergraduate and graduate research.”
Dr. Kairo has been on the faculty at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore since 2012. Previously, he was associate research director for at the College of Agriculture and Food Sciences of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Dr. Kairo is a graduate of the University of Nairobi in Kenya, where he majored in zoology. He holds a master’s degree from Imperial College London and a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of London.
