Maine AgrAbility

AgrAbility News for July 2021

Maine AgrAbility News

Maine AgrAbility’s Boots-2-Bushels continued with its monthly in-person workshops.  In July, the group met at Stonecipher Farm in Bowdoinham to learn about no-till farming practices.  The hands-on learning is proving to be a successful learning method.

Our most recent article in the Commercial Fisheries News is about fishing and energy conservation. Commercial fishing involves working in harsh environments and being in physically and mentally strenuous situations. Energy Conservation can help; it’s the practice of examining tasks and structuring them to minimize muscle fatigue, joint stress, and pain by using your body efficiently and ergonomically. https://extension.umaine.edu/agrability/2021/07/26/fishability-for-maine-fishermen-energy-conservation/

We have started a new blog from a collection of notes gathered by AgrAbility staffer Ketra Crosson, OTR/L from her time spent tending a raised bed during the pandemic last year. The posts are to provide insight on raised bed gardening, as a first-person perspective from an occupational therapist. Read the first two posts.

Anne Devin, Maine AgrAbility’s veteran outreach coordinator, received the NACAA state Search for Excellence award in the Young, Beginning, or Small Farmers/Ranchers category. Anne gave a presentation as part of the 2021 NACAA conference on AgrAbility’s Boots-to-Bushels program.

To celebrate the return to in-person programming. six Maine AgrAbility staff participated in the ultimate professional development opportunity on the Kennebec River this week facing the challenge of Class IV rapids together! More pictures on our facebook page.