Farm Scoop – August 2018
“So, You Want to Farm in Maine?” Course
A course to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to start, adapt, and maintain a profitable land-based business.
This multi-session course is designed for people who want to start a profitable farm or expand their farm hobby to a profitable business.
Successful completion of this course qualifies participants for FSA Borrower Training Credit.
Textbook: Starting and Running Your Own Small Farm Business by Sara Aubrey
Cost: $50 per person (includes textbook)
Online Registration (coming soon!)
Objectives:
- Participants will feel comfortable starting a land-based business.
- Participants will understand the need for and have a framework for a business plan.
- Participants will select and use a record keeping system.
- Participants will understand how to use Cooperative Extension and other agencies as a resource for their land-based business.
- Participants will understand the importance of and basics of marketing their products, including customer surveys.
Schedule:
November 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2018
UMaine Extension Aroostook County — Presque Isle
57 Houlton Road, Presque Isle, ME
Instructors: Suhkwinder Bali, Assistant Extension Professor and Assistant Professor of Sustainable Agriculture, and Linda Tricky, Agricultural Assistant, UMaine Extension
October 2, 9, 16, and 23, 2018
Register Online
UMaine Extension Penobscot County
307 Maine Avenue, Bangor, ME
Instructors: Donna Coffin, Extension Educator, Erin Roche, Crop Insurance Education Program Manager, and Kathy Hopkins, Extension Educator, UMaine Extension
October 9, 16, 23, 30, and November 6, 2018
UMaine Extension Cumberland County
75 Clearwater Drive, Suite 104, Falmouth, ME
Instructors: Jason Lilley, Sustainable Agriculture Professional, Tori Jackson, Extension Educator: Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Frank Wertheim, Extension Educator, Agriculture/Horticulture, UMaine Extension
November 1, 8, 15, and 29, 2018
Gardiner Area High School (through Gardiner Adult Ed.)
40 W Hill Rd, Gardiner, ME
Instructors: Caragh Fitzgerald, Associate Extension Professor, Agriculture, and Rick Kersbergen, Extension Professor, Sustainable Dairy and Forage Systems, UMaine Extension
November 5, 8, 13, and 15, 2018
1:00 – 4:00 PM
UMaine Extension Washington County
28 Center Street, Machias, ME
Instructors: Lily Calderwood, UMaine Wild Blueberry Specialist and Assistant Professor of Horticulture, and Marjorie Peronto, Extension Educator, UMaine Extension
For more information or a reasonable accommodation, contact Lynne Hazelton at 207.781.6099 or 1.800.287.1471 (in Maine) or lynne.b.hazelton@maine.edu.
Soil Health – Spring vs Fall Tillage: Field Event at Hillacre Farms
Wednesday, August 8, 2018, at 3pm
Hillacre Farms and Grounded Research will be hosting a field event to discuss our Conservation Innovation Grant project on soil health. Our research project is looking at the effects of Spring versus Fall Tillage on Soil Health and Potato Yields. We will tour the plots, discuss the findings to date, review photos and aerial footage of the field and provide information on the next phase of the project.
The event will be held in the field across from Carl R Smith’s house at 428 Mullen Road, Newport.
For more information, contact Sylvia Miholovich at 207-217-8615 or sjmiholovich@gmail.com
Planning for Soil Health: This Fall to the Next Generation
Wish that you were getting more benefits from your cover crop and seeing more improvements in your soil health? At this meeting we will discuss diverse cover crop species options, and planting criteria and methods for success. We will develop a crop rotation plan for your farm that includes cover crops and discuss tillage practices, equipment, and testing to improve soil health. Bring your crop rotation plans and a sharpened pencil for this hands-on workshop!
Date: Wednesday, August 8th, 2018
Time: 6:00-7:00pm
Location: UMaine Regional Learning Center, 75 Clearwater Drive, Suite 104, Falmouth, ME
Cost: FREE, email lynne.b.hazelton@maine.edu to RSVP
Maine Certified Vegetable Production Course
A multi-session course designed to successfully equip individuals with practical skills and knowledge for growing and harvesting vegetables in Maine. In this hands-on course you will not only discuss, see, and learn several aspects of vegetable production in Maine, but you will also develop plans relevant to your land to succeed in your vegetable production endeavors.
Dates: Tuesdays,August 14th, 21st, 28th, September 4th, & Wednesday, September 12th, 2018
Time: 5:00-8:00pm
Location: UMaine Regional Learning Center, Falmouth, ME (5th session at a local farm.)
Instructors: Sustainable Agriculture Professional, Jason Lilley, and Horticulturist, Pamela Hargest
Cost: $50 per person – Includes a copy of the New England Vegetable Management Guide and the Northeast Vegetable and Strawberry Pest Identification Guide.
Registration: Online
Are you a small- or medium-scale maple syrup producer in Maine?
The University of Maine and College of the Atlantic are seeking interested small- scale (<300 taps) and medium-scale (300-3,000 taps) maple syrup producers involved in the sale of maple syrup to participate in a 60-90 minute interview at a location of your choosing about your experiences in sugaring and challenges you currently face.
These interviews will be used to understand the scale of operations and to enhance the sustainability, viability, and competitiveness of the small- and medium-scale maple producers within the state of Maine. We would greatly appreciate your time, expertise and experience!
If you are interested in participating, please contact research associate, Sara Velardi, by email (sara.velardi@maine.edu) or by phone (203-583-0181). We hope to conduct interviews between August-October 2018. Thank you for your time!
Come Meet Maine’s Next Governor
Hear each of the gubernatorial candidates speak about the issues impacting Maine’s agricultural sector, and engage in a question & answer session about some of the challenges facing Maine farmers and the potential solutions that would be proposed by the next governor.
- Each Candidate has their own dedicated me to talk 1-on-1 with a room of farmers and those working in Maine agriculture. A moderator will do brief candidate intro- duc ons, keep track of me, and facilitate ques ons from the audience.
- Candidates are alloted 10 minutes of opening remarks and 5 minutes of closing re- marks. Candidates will also be provided several general ques ons about agricultur- al policy in advance of the Forum, which can be addressed as part of their opening remarks.
- The 4 candidates running to be Maine’s next governor will appear in the following order:
- 12 pm (noon) – 1 pm Shawn Moody (R)
1 pm—2 pm Terry Hayes (I)
2 pm—3 pm Alan Caron (I)
3 pm—4 pm Janet Mills (D)
- 12 pm (noon) – 1 pm Shawn Moody (R)
- Light refreshments provided.
When: Tuesday, August 28, 201812 noon—4 pm
Where: Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine L.L. Bean Conference Room, 205 Church Hill Road, Augusta, ME
For more information about AgCOM and our membership, go to http://maineagcom.org/