AUGUSTA — During August, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the United States Department of Agriculture are asking the public to take a couple of minutes to check…
Agriculture
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Maine farmers have been awarded a total of $9,472,586 to date to help offset the financial harm they have experienced due to COVID-19, according to a news release.
The…
opinion: expect to see swings between soil-damaging rain events and more regular drought conditions
The words of University of Maine soil scientist Ivan Fernandez reveal a troubling truth.
“Never again will we have the climate system of the 20th century,” wrote Fernandez, co-chair of the…
AUGUSTA — Maine's Drought Task Force convened Friday by virtual meeting to address continuing drought conditions across the state.
The state remains, per a news release, mostly in moderate…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Maine farmers have been awarded a total of $8,588,357, to date, to help offset the financial harm they have experienced due to COVID-19, per a news release.
The funding…
Volunteers are needed across the state
Between July 20 and September 10, citizen volunteers across Maine are spotting deer and sending simple observations to Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The observations include the…
Improve understanding of flood risk, evaluate sources of sedimentation and pollutants, identify fish passage barriers
Over the next several weeks, the Town of Camden will be conducting a survey of parts of the Megunticook River; surveyors will be in and around the river channel.
This work is part of the…
AUGUSTA — Maine’s Drought Task Force convened Thursday by virtual meeting to take another look at drought conditions across the state, per a news release.
The Task Force met two weeks ago…
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden announced Thursday Maine Farmers Exchange, a Presque Isle distribution company,…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Maine farmers have been awarded a total of $7.75 million thus far to help offset the financial harm they have experienced due to COVID-19, according to a June 30 news release.…
AUGUSTA — Maine's Drought Task Force convened virtually Thursday to assess drought conditions across the state as the state has experienced drought conditions in some form for the last five years…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Maine farmers have been awarded a total of $7.46 million thus far to help offset the financial harm they have experienced due to COVID-19, according to a news release, with the…
AUGUSTA — Governor Janet Mills has called for the USDA to designate maple syrup as an eligible Coronavirus Food Assistance Program specialty crop, according to a June 22 news release.
…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden announced Monday that Native Maine Produce & Specialty Foods, a Westbrook…
‘there has been a crush of demand for the farm products’
Meat shortages across the country caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led more consumers buying locally raised beef, pork, and poultry, and that’s good news for Maine farms.
The shortage…
qualified to participate in the state contest
WALDO COUNTY — For many Maine 4-H members, the first months of each new year are dedicated to preparing their 4-H public speaking presentations. March and April will see them getting up and…
University of Maine Cooperative Extension is now offering free online farm coaching, help with stress management and communication, and problem-solving on the farm and within families.
…
serving immediate needs while building resiliency, interconnectivity, and investment in the food system
Waldo County Bounty launches this week. WCB is a community fundraising and resource-sharing campaign designed to improve food security for all people in Waldo County during the COVID-19 crisis and…
Pandemic forces organizers to take a different route to celebrate rural life
UNITY — One of Maine’s favorite agricultural events, the Common Ground Fair, will be going virtual this September.
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners…
More than 100 years ago, Maine Potato Week campaign began, urging locals to eat potatoes and ration wheat
The humble Maine potato, like most agriculture products, is undergoing its own crisis within a pandemic.
According to a April 18, 2020…
Maine Experiencing Home Gardening Boom during Coronavirus Lockdown
UNION—Sarah Hewitt, and her business partner, Graham Raymond, owners of the Victory Hemp LLC, are like all farmers struggling under the Covid-19 crisis, these days. Earlier this month, the USDA…
The Maine Farmland Trust and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association introduced new Maine Farm Emergency Grants to assist farmers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. A recent survey…
In a bipartisan effort to support Maine farmers during the ongoing pandemic, U.S. Senator Susan Collins and U.S. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree…
Calling all farm and woodland owners:
Farm and woodland owners and operators in five Maine counties may be eligible to receive a free invasive plant survey and management plan, prepared by a natural resource professional from the…
AUGUSTA — The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with the Maine Federation of Farmers' Markets, is announcing the…
On April 3, Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District decided to cancel the 2020 Spring Plant Sale in its entirety.
Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation…
AUGUSTA — Governor Janet Mills signed Rep. Scott Cuddy’s bill to protect the products of Maine farmers into law on March 18, according to an April 1 news release.
“While I know there are…
frequently asked agriculture questions during COVID-19 pandemic
University of Maine Cooperative Extension created a new resource for Maine farmers and agricultural producers devoted to frequently asked questions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
…
The below was shared by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry:
Good afternoon, we are in touch to make you aware of a new …
make a positive impact while expanding resumes and social circles
ROCKPORT — Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a state-wide land conservation organization, is offering teens ages 14-18 paid internships through the Teen Ag Crew program at Erickson Fields Preserve,…
make a bottle of syrup from start to finish
ROCKPORT — Cabin fever setting in? Looking for a sweet pick-me-up? During the month of March, Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) invites all ages to try out making maple syrup from scratch (i.e.…
Agriculture Education
MAINE — Graduating seniors from Maine high schools who are National Future Farmers of America (FFA) Organization members and interested in pursuing a career in farming, agriculture, or natural…
Plus a species seen in the area for the first time
BELFAST — A team of Belfast Bay Watershed Coalition volunteers participated along with other bird counters in the 120th Christmas Bird Count, the oldest citizen science bird project on the planet…
promoting the ongoing prosperity of Maine’s wild blueberry industry
MAINE — Eric Venturini will begin as the new executive director for the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine on Monday February 10, 2020.
Venturini is an alumnus of the University of Maine,…
Daybreak Growers Alliance uses collaboration not competition to get locally grown food to Maine homes
MIDCOAST— It’s a known fact that farmers in Maine work overtime to sustain their businesses; there is no such thing as 9 to 5.
A team of Maine farmers, came up with a fairly innovative…
Boots-2-Bushels
AUGUSTA — Military veterans and family members interested in small-scale farming for market sales will begin a free 30-week training program on Jan. 13, from 9 a.m. – noon, at Togus VA…
reusing the clear film used to cover greenhouses, high tunnels, hoop houses and other agricultural structures
ORONO — University of Maine Cooperative Extension has been awarded $38,764 by a one-year State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection Waste Diversion Grant to develop a statewide pilot…
“Know What You Eat!” students rang out in unison at a dinner theater Dec. 19 in Belfast. That was the final line of a play written and produced by homeschooling students ages 12-15 who…
WHITEFIELD — Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is hosting a roundtable discussion about the …
From the column ‘Sea Change’ for Pine Tree Watch
“We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot,” Leonardo da Vinci is said to have observed roughly five centuries ago. Sadly, that statement still holds,…
The Belfast-based Maine Federation of Farmers Markets is among three recipients in the state receiving grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service to increase…
interim rules have potential to be detrimental to Maine farmers
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry issued its comments to the USDA on the Interim Final Hemp Rule, expressing concerns with proposed requirements that have the…
From Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) joined her fellow House Organic Caucus co-chairs Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), Rep Ron Kind (D-…
honoring skills beyond the records
ROCKPORT — The Aldermere Achievers 4-H Club, a program of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, housed here in Rockport at Aldermere Farm, has been busy this year. They have attended multiple shows…
Analysis
At Uncas Farm in Whitefield, farmers Teryn and Ben Marcus looked forward to a new cash crop this fall, only to be caught up in a nightmare scenario involving the intersection of newly legal hemp…
AUGUSTA – Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Commissioner Amanda Beal released the following statement regarding today's USDA Hemp Rules announcement:
“We are pleased…
Cold, wet spring meant less pollination
HOPE – Hope Orchard’s apple picking season officially began at 9 a.m. on Saturday, September 21. Emily Davis, co-owner of the orchard, said the apple crop is diminished this year and because of…
