Christina Howard

Equipping New Farmers Program Manager
52 US Rt 202, Monmouth, ME 04259
Phone: 207.944.6391
Email: christina.howard@maine.edu

Chris is the project manager for the Equipping New Farmers with Practical Skills and Knowledge project. This project will help beginning farmers build a portfolio of knowledge and experience for successful farming through hands-on and classroom training, one-on-one support, and text and video materials. The long-term goals are:

  • Equip new farmers and farm workers with practical skills and knowledge to improve their chances of successfully managing a sustainable farming operation.

  • Establish and develop a qualifying system for farm workers and farmers when knowledge or skills are proven.

  • Establish a farm relief service so that competent individuals can obtain employment on farms and work alongside older and experienced farmers.

  • Create a sustainable beginning farmer program here in Maine.

Chris has worked in many roles within the University of Maine Cooperative Extension over the years. In the recent past, Chris was the Produce Safety Professional and the Risk Management/Crop Insurance Professional for UMaine Extension. And before that, she worked as a Scientific Technician, working on various projects from broccoli, tomatoes, and other vegetable and small fruit trials, Integrated Pest Management trials, and presentations, to identifying and monitoring for Spotted Wing Drosophila in raspberry, blueberry and strawberry fields in Maine.

Education: 

  • M.S., Concentration in Plant Soil and Environmental Science, University of Maine, 2007
  • Undergraduate Degree: Sustainable Agriculture, University of Maine, 2003

Work-Related Certifications:

  • 2020: Human Subjects Research Certification and Conflict of Interest Training from The Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program
  • 2020: Community Accreditation for Produce Safety (CAPS)+ Audit Training, University of Vermont
  • 2018: On-Farm Readiness Review Produce Safety Training, Rutgers University
  • 2018: Produce Safety Alliance Train the Trainer, Louisiana State University

Professional Organizations:

  • 2021-present: Member of the Maine Association of Agricultural Extension Agents (MAEA)
  • 2021-present: Member of the Northeast Association of County Agricultural Agents (NEACAA)
  • 2021-present: Maine Farmer Resource Network
  • 2021-present: Extension Professionals Committee (Professionals Promotion Review Committee)