GardenPro (the program) and the GardenPro Answer Book (the publication) are both designed to help you answer questions like:

• What can I plant on my septic field?
• How can I get rid of moss in my lawn?
• What should I plant to attract pollinators?
• How should I plant this tree?
• Why did my plant wilt?
• What’s wrong with my plant?

… and more

Interested? GardenPro (the program) will be held at Longfellow’s Greenhouses in Manchester on Thursday, March 29, 2012. The cost is $10, including lunch. Registration is limited to 50 people; preregistration is required by March 26. More information, including registration and ordering the GardenPro book, is available online or by calling Meghan Dill 207.581.3878.

UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals. To provide adequate time to respond to your request please provide as much notice as possible.

UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals. To provide adequate time to respond to your request please provide as much notice as possible.

 Maine Hay School Webinar Series

A five-session webinar series, the Maine Hay School, began on March 1, 2012. This series of one-hour webinars is designed to instruct beginner and experienced hay producers in Maine about selecting, growing, making, storing, and marketing the best quality hays or other preserved forages possible at a profit. All of these webinars will be recorded and free for the viewing.

Links to the next sessions of the Maine Hay School are as follows:

Maine Hay School Webinar – Part 2 – March 8th, 7-8 PM

Maine Hay School Webinar – Part 3 – March 15th, 7-8 PM

Maine Hay School Webinar – Part 4 – March 22nd, 7-8 PM

Maine Hay School Webinar – Part 5 – March 29th, 7-8 PM

To participate, simply enter the webinar as a ‘guest’.

Beginning Farmer Series Scheduled

Interested in starting a farm? Getting information at the outset can put you on the road to success by saving you time, money, and energy. University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer a 5-session Beginning Farmer Series in Waldo starting March 13, 2012. Classes will be held on Thursdays from 6:30 – 9:00 PM. UMaine Extension Educators Rick Kersbergen and Caragh Fitzgerald will collaborate with farmers and other experts from around the region to present this series. Novice farmers will be given the tools to evaluate and choose enterprises, develop a business plan, and market their products. Cost is $60 per farm and includes course books and other program materials. Registration ends March 7. For more information, contact Caragh Fitzgerald or call (207) 622-7546 (toll free 1-800-287-1481 in Maine), TDD 1-800-287-8957.

Maine Grass Farmers Network 8th Annual Grazing Conference

The Maine Beef Producers Association and Maine Grass Farmers Network present the 8th Annual Grazing Conference on Saturday, March 17, 2012 from 8:00am – 4:00pm at Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield, ME. Topics will include KVCC’s New Role in Agricultural Education, Managed Grazing Systems, Forage Species Selection and Management, Marketing Your Farm Products, Finishing Cattle on Grass, Pork Cutting Demonstration and more. More information, including registration, is available online.

Egg Producer School

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is partnering with the Maine Poultry Growers Association in presenting a day-long Egg Producer School. The school is scheduled from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, on Saturday, March 24, 2012 at Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield, Maine. The cost to participate in this practical school is $25.00 per person. This fee includes lunch and reference materials. This day-long school is designed for individuals who have (or plan to have) a small-scale or mid-size egg production enterprise. The instructors for the school are University of Connecticut Extension Poultry Specialist, Dr. Michael Darre and UMaine Extension Educator, Richard Brzozowski. Participants will be equipped with information and skills to assist them in reaching & managing a profitable egg enterprise. For more information contact UMaine Extension at 207-781-6099 or  1-800-287-1471 (toll-free in Maine) or email Colleen Hoyt.

Sheep Shearing Schools

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has partnered with the Maine Sheep Breeders Association to offer three sheep shearing schools Spring 2012. The first school is a blade shearing school using non-electric hand shears and will feature blade shearer Kevin Ford. The school is scheduled Friday, March 30, at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in New Gloucester, ME, starting at 8:00 AM. Enrollment is limited to eight students. The fee is $80 per student. Spectators are welcome. The other two sheep shearing schools are beginner level schools and will feature teams of instructors. These day-long schools will be held Saturday, April 21 in Windham, ME, and Saturday, April 28 in Littleton, ME. Enrollment is limited to 22 students per school, and each costs $35 per person. For more information or to register, please contact UMaine Extension at 207-781-6099 or 1-800-287-1471 (toll-free in Maine).

Focus Group for Maine Land Use Futures Research

Michelle Johnson, Ph.D. student in Ecology and Environmental Science, and Research Fellow for the Sustainability Solutions Initiative, would like to invite you to participate in a University of Maine-led focus group related to agricultural land use in the Casco Bay/Lower Androscoggin Watershed region. The purpose of this focus group is to identify key factors that determine what makes parcels in the region suitable or unsuitable for agriculture. The outcomes of the agriculture focus group will be combined with information from other land use focus groups (forestry, development, ecosystem conservation) the team will hold. The information will then be presented in a map-based format to identify potential future conflicts and compatibilities of the various land uses.

The focus group will be held between March 26 – April 6, and will run 3 hours (morning or afternoon) with refreshments available. The location will be either USM’s Portland campus or the UMaine Extension office in Falmouth. Those with experience in agricultural activities in the Casco Bay and Lower Androscoggin Watersheds are being invited to participate. The group will participate in discussion about suitability of key factors for agriculture, with a goal of creating a list of the factors and identifying the relative importance of each factor. If you are a farmer interested in participating, please contact Michelle Johnson or call 207-852-1181.

Dairy Producers Reminded of MILC Program

The Maine Farm Service Agency would like to remind dairy producers of some important program eligibility requirements for payment under the Milk Income Loss Contract program (MILC). FSA Androscoggin/Sagadahoc County Executive Director Marcia Hall says dairy prices may authorize potential MILC payments, but all dairy producers need to be aware of the program requirements should those conditions arise.

Dairy operators currently enrolled in MILC, need to notify the local county office if there have been any changes to their dairy operation. If a payment rate is announced, dairy producers enrolled in the MILC program will need to provide the local county office with documentation showing the eligible milk production and commercial milk marketing for the months with a MILC payment rate in effect.

MILC program participants are also required to comply with FSA’s Adjusted Gross Income requirements each fiscal year. This certification, on a CCC-931, must be completed prior to a payment being disbursed. New dairies that have not previously participated in the MILC program will need to fill out the CCC-580, Milk Income Loss Contract. For more information contact: Marcia Hall or call 207/753-9400 ext. 2.

Starting from Scratch with a Smart Phone, Mobile Device or Computer? We can help!

If you want to learn how to use a smart phone, iPad, laptop or other mobile device for your farm business, contact Tori at 1-800-287-1458 or Dick at 1-800-287-1471 at UMaine Extension. A smart phone or computer might make sense for you in more efficient communications, marketing, management and making business decisions. It is never too late to start using such devices.

Do You Have an Email Address?

Getting this newsletter and other announcements from UMaine Extension and other agricultural groups is quicker and less expensive via email address. If you have an email address and would like to be added to our mailing list, please send a request to Dana Rickman. Thank you.

Conservation of pollinating insects is critically important.  In 2006, the National Academy of Sciences released a report calling attention to the decline of pollinators. The report urged agencies and organizations to increase awareness and protect pollinator habitat. The Pollinator Conservation Planning Short Course was developed to address this need.

The course will include both classroom and field training components, and is approved for two pesticide applicator recertification credits.  University of Maine’s Dr. Frank Drummond, Professor of Insect Ecology and Insect Pest Management, will be a guest speaker for the day.

When:  May 15, 2012  9:00 am – 4:00 pm EDT

Where:  Unity, Maine

Fee:  $45/person, $35/person for NRCS personnel. Some scholarships are available.

Registrants will receive the Xerces Society’s Pollinator Conservation Toolkit which includes the Xerces’ publication, Attracting Native Pollinators. Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies, as well as habitat management guidelines and relevant USDA-NRCS and extension publications.

Further information, including event registration, is available online.

Have you ever participated in a webinar?

Like many institutions, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension seeks ways to cut costs and continue to reach citizens with the best service possible. One of these ways is to present information and educational opportunities via the Internet. A webinar is a workshop in which interested individuals may participate via their home computer or other mobile device. A webinar presenter uses slides, photos and audio to present a topic or teach a skill. Most live webinars allow participants to ask questions during the session via your computer. Many webinars are archived so that if you happen to miss the live broadcast, you can view the recorded session and still benefit. If you have Internet access, you can participate. If you do not have Internet connection, most public libraries make Internet access free. Some webinars may have a fee to participate but many are free. For most webinars one needs to register so that you get the appropriate web address to connect. UMaine Extension plans several free webinars this spring designed for farmers and growers. A few upcoming webinars are featured in this newsletter.

Troubleshooting Poultry Problems Webinar

To help meet the needs of poultry producers, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension will broadcast a free, 60-minute webinar on “Troubleshooting Poultry Problems” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9. Instructors for the webinar are University of Kentucky Extension poultry specialist Jacquie Jacob and UMaine Extension educator Richard Brzozowski. The webinar is designed for small-scale and mid-size poultry keepers to identify and correct common poultry problems. The materials presented are suitable for farmers or backyard keepers. Registration is required and is available online. For more information, please call UMaine Extension at 207-781-6099 or email Richard Brzozowski.

Sheep & Goat Foot Health Webinar

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer a free Sheep & Goat Foot Health webinar series in two-parts on Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 7-8 p.m. and Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 7-8 p.m. Foot rot in sheep and goats is a contagious and devastating disease that has put producers all over the world out of business. The instructors are University of Maryland Extension small ruminant specialist Susan Schoenian and UMaine Extension educator Richard Brzozowski. The webinar series is designed for Maine sheep and goat producers to identify, treat and eliminate foot problems in their flocks or herds. The series is part of a major applied research project funded by Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and headed by UMaine Extension. Registration is required and is available online. For more information, please call UMaine Extension at 207-781-6099 or email Richard Brzozowski.

‘Get Real, Get Maine’ and You

Your farm and the products and services you provide can be listed on the Web site hosted by the Maine Department of Agriculture. You would be surprised how many customers go online to locate farmers in their vicinity. If two new customers spending $10 a week discovered your farm over the growing season, that’s hundreds of extra dollars coming to your business. For more information on how to get your farm listed for free, contact Meaghan at 207-287-3871.

Maine Home Garden News 2012

A newsletter designed for home gardeners in Maine is available to you this growing season. The free newsletter features all aspects of home horticulture – fruits, vegetables, lawn care, trees, shrubs and flowers and is published monthly by UMaine Extension from March through October. Subscribers can receive the newsletter via email, or by US Mail for those who do not have Internet access. To subscribe to this newsletter, contact Colleen Hoyt or call 207-781-6099.

Environmental Quality Incentive Program

Agricultural producers will have more opportunities this year to be approved for funding for three conservation initiatives, announced Juan Hernandez, State Conservationist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), three ranking dates have been set for the On-Farm Energy, Organic, and Seasonal High Tunnel initiatives for Fiscal Year 2012. All three initiatives offer technical and financial assistance. NRCS accepts applications for financial assistance on a continuous basis throughout the year; however, there will be three ranking periods for the three initiatives, all ending on February 3, March 30 and June 1, 2012. At the end of a ranking period, NRCS will rank all submitted proposals for funding consideration, notify all applicants of the results of the rankings, and begin developing contracts with selected applicants. More information is available on the Web site, or contact your nearest USDA Service Center, or find in the telephone book under United States Government, Agriculture Department.

Maine Vegetable & Fruit School

This day-long school is offered on two dates at two locations: March 8 in Portland or March 9 in Bangor. Pre-registration is required by February 22nd. Program fee is $35 per person and includes lunch. Please make checks payable to KLCEA and mail to Highmoor Farm, Att. Pam St.Peter, P.O. Box 179, Monmouth, ME 04259. Sponsored by the UMaine Extension, Maine Crop Insurance Education Program, and Maine Vegetable & Small Fruit Growers Association. Two hours pesticide recertification credit and five hours certified crop advisors credits available. More information is available on the Web site, or contact Mark Hutchinson or call 207-832-0343.

New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference Proceedings

If you missed attending the conference last month, you can download the proceedings from the NEVF Web site.

USDA Announces Greater Flexibility and Additional Tools for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has recently announced a new rule that expands loan opportunities for beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, while also establishing a new Land Contract Guarantee Program. The rule provides additional flexibility allowing FSA loan officers to consider all prior farming experience. It also expands a previous pilot program, the Land Contract Guarantee Program, from six states to all 50 states. This program is designed to encourage farmers and ranchers to sell their property to beginning and socially disadvantaged (SDA) farmers and ranchers through the use of seller financing. More information is available at local FSA offices nationwide. Information about Farm Loan Programs and FSA loan qualifications can be found on the FSA Web site.

Maintain Machinery in Winter to Avoid Downtime

The best time to start your battle against next year’s breakdown blues is right now. By using time available during the less busy winter season to check and repair your machinery you can save valuable hours in the spring when you need them most. Use this handy outline from Utah State University to check over your tractors and implements this winter.  For a hard copy of the outline, call UMaine Extension at 207-781-6099.

Are You Prepared to Assist an Accident Victim?

Do you have a well-equipped farm first aid kit? Does everyone know where the first aid kit is? Are emergency numbers up to date and posted for all farm workers or family members to see? Have you discussed with employees and family members what to do in case an accident occurs? Are there people on the farm who are trained in first aid or CPR? Your preparation could save a life – and it could be yours. More information about farm first aid and preparing for accidents is available on the UMaine Extension’s AgrAbility Web site, or call 207-944-1533.

The Androscoggin-Sagadahoc Counties Extension Association (ASCEA) will hold its Annual Meeting on Monday, March 12, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension office, 24 Main Street, in Lisbon Falls. New officers will be elected and a potluck dinner will follow. The meeting is open to the public.

The ASCEA is actively recruiting new members. For more information or to RSVP please contact Dana Rickman or call 207-353-5550. UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals.

Are you currently involved, or would like to become involved, in farm-to-school programming?  Please join us!

Who? Teachers, Administrators, Master Gardener Volunteers, Parents, Community Partners

What?

• Learn techniques to start and sustain farm-to-school programs
• Work through common challenges, and leave with action steps
• Learn examples of service-learning related to farm-to-school programming
• Share your existing or future school gardens & food/agriculture curricula

Where? Multi-Purpose Room, Brunswick High School (116 Maquoit Rd., Brunswick)

When? Monday, February 6th from 4:30–6:30 pm (Snow date: February 8th)

Why?

• Network with other teachers, community partners, Master Gardeners, parents, administrators, and stakeholders
• Continuing Education Units (0.2 CEUs) will be available
• Be entered into a raffle for a Maine School Garden Network tote bag, a copy of Healthy Foods from Healthy Soils: A Hands-On Resource for Teachers or snow-tubing, tobogganing, and lift passes from the Snow Bowl in Camden!
• All participants will be entered in grand prize drawing for a Johnny’s Selected Seeds cedar cold frame

RSVP to Genna Cherichello or 207-832-0343 with your name, affiliation, phone number, special accommodations and dietary needs.

Co-sponsored by The Maine Farm-to-School Network, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and ACCESS Health.

UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals. The University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request.

Photo by Edwin Remsberg

“Go Blueberry! Learn, grow, eat, give.”

Blueberry plant sale to benefit UMaine Extension Master Gardener Volunteers program

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension and its Master Gardener Development Board are now conducting an online highbush blueberry plant sale to raise funds for the Master Gardener Volunteers program.

For $35.95, you can purchase a set of THREE highbush blueberry plants hardy to Maine’s climate. The deadline for ordering is April 30, 2012, and will be available for pick-up on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at your choice of seven University of Maine Cooperative Extension locations. More information, including how to order, available here.

The 19th annual Maine Garden Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 14, 2012, at Lewiston High School.  Find full details on workshops and pre-registration here!

UMaine Extension educator Tori Jackson will collaborate with experts from around the state to present sustainable vegetable and fruit gardening and volunteer training. Some open seats remain in the class and the deadline for completed applications has been extended to Friday, Feb. 3.

Sessions will be held beginning March 20, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons 12:30-4 p.m. at the UMaine Extension Androscoggin-Sagadahoc Counties office at 24 Main St. in Lisbon Falls. The course fee is on a sliding scale from $110-$330 and a limited number of scholarships are available. Enrollment will be capped at 20.

For more information, or to request an application, contact Dana Rickman at (207) 353-5550, 1-800-287-1458 (toll free in Maine) or email dana.rickman@maine.edu. UMaine Extension programs are open and accessible to all in accordance with program goals.