Cooperative Extension: Maine Wild Blueberries

Updates

Individual Farm – Extension Office Hours

Dr. Calderwood has set up Extension Office Hours across the wild blueberry growing regions of Maine this spring for one-on-one free consultations. Sign up for an hour and a half time slot to discuss anything from field management, business planning, how to get started with a new field, expertise on a particular subject, to sharing ideas about research and education efforts.

While Lily has expertise on many subjects, she is also an excellent person to connect you to the resources you need. Lily can visit your field instead of an office meeting, however, developing a field management or business management plan requires focused time at a table with a computer and other resources.

Cost: Free
When: April-May
Locations: Waldoboro, Belfast, Ellsworth and Machias
Click Here to Register

Maine Mesonet Stations Live!

You can now access live and historical weather data from the three Mesonet weather stations installed by our team this fall. The Maine Mesonet is a University of Maine led congressionally-funded project to build a new 26-station weather monitoring network across Maine to fill observational gaps and provide high-quality measurements for weather-based decision tools. Visit this poster for more information. We plan to install 14 more stations this coming season. Station data are also accessible via Synoptic Data and the National Weather Service.

Specialty Crop Minor Equipment Grant RFA Opens Feb. 11

The Maine Specialty Crop Minor Equipment Grant application opens on Wednesday, February 11, 2026. Review the Request for Applications (RFA) and all related documents on the Specialty Crop Block Grant website before applying. 

Application Deadline: Applications are due by April 3, 2026, no later than 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone.

Grant Purpose: The purpose of this funding opportunity is to support commercial farms in enhancing the competitiveness of specialty crop production through the purchase of minor equipment.

Eligible applicants must:

• Own and operate a commercial farm in Maine,
• Grow and harvest at least one specialty crop in Maine,
• Have not received prior grant funding from DACF from the Agricultural Infrastructure Investment Program (AIIP) or the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI) Program.

Award Range: Award ranges will be between $2,000 and $10,000 per selected recipient.

Important Information: For the purpose of this grant, minor equipment is defined as tangible, nonexpendable business property with a useful life of more than one year, an acquisition cost of $2,000 or more per unit, and a cost of less than $10,000.

Job Opportunities in Pembroke

Smithereen Farm is a certified organic farm located in Pembroke, Maine. They are building an abundant, resilient, and multi-faceted agroforestry operation producing nourishing food for Washington County and beyond. 
Six job openings:

• General Manager
• Farmstore Manager
• Kitchen Assistant (Seasonal)
• Farmstore Cashiers (Seasonal)
• Farm Hand
• Cleaner/ Caretaker

Application Deadline: March 9th. For detailed job descriptions, requirements, and application instructions, visit our website at: https://www.smithereenfarm.com/careers/

Events

Farm Succession – Online Extension Course

Every farm has a different path to succession. Sometimes developing that path can be challenging if you feel like you don’t have the time to talk through the process. If you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed with succession planning, join our goal-oriented group, where you’ll work alongside fellow farmers to understand the process and focus on the pieces most relevant to your farm.

Who: Farmers working through succession
What: Six-succession goal-oriented working group meetings
Where: Online – This cohort will run March through May, Mar 2, Mar 15, Mar 30, Apr 13, April 20 and May 4, 2026 
Click Here to Register

More information about this program:
Farm coaching helps with succession or long-term planning in many ways, getting you to the table to have the conversations and put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to get started. Coaching supports the conversations you haven’t yet had, are struggling to have, or are not moving forward in. Or if you’re stuck, coaching helps you set goals and take steps toward progress. The coaches focus on the human aspects of farming – the people who farm.

Online cohorts will meet monthly for six months. This is a working group, facilitated by members of the coaching team due to the highly collaborative nature of these calls. The cohort-based groups design centers on goal-oriented sessions that incorporate tools from the Farm Communications Guide.

• The cohort-based model emphasizes peer-to-peer collaboration
• Online for six sessions
• Each session follows a structured planning process
• Breakout sessions with other group members
• Homework between sessions
• Learn communication tools and practice

Each participant in the cohort will complete a personalized binder:

• Shared resources
• Components of a succession plan
• Timeline with action steps

Please contact leslie.forstadt@maine.edu with any questions.

Online Extension Courses

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is proud to now offer 26 online courses for all types of learners. From Grant Writing, Project Management, Plant Disease Diagnostics, Meat Cutting, Oral Communication, GIS Mapping, to Pollinator Friendly Gardening these “micro-credential” courses offer valuable skills to support your business and everyday life.

New in the Marketplace

Our Wild Blueberry Marketplace contains links and listings for purchasing new equipment, listing used equipment and land sales, sourcing wild blueberry products, and more!

To add a Marketplace listing, please email extension.wildblueberries@maine.edu with your item(s) name, a brief item description, photo(s), asking price, location, and contact information. Right now there is one listing:

Looking for a Maine Blueberry Equipment (MBE) Fresh Pack Line

We currently have smaller sized MBE in very good condition, but looking to expand capacity. Anyone looking to sell standard MBE, or downsize please reach out.
Contact: Craig
Email: octoberfarmmaine@gmail.com
Phone: 207.702.0304
Date posted: February 19, 2026

On-farm Spring Tasks

• Calibrate sprayers and granular spreaders.
• Inspect nozzles for wear and replace as needed.
• Order fertilizers and sulfur.
• Review pesticide inventory and confirm rotation plans.
• Review AgriNet mummy berry spray timing tool.
• Get ready to sweep net fields for spring insect pests (blueberry flea beetle and spanworm).
• Confirm beehive contracts and plan placement locations.
• Submit soil samples if not done in the fall (target pH 4.0–4.5).
• Complete mowing or burning in prune-year fields if not done in fall.
• Confirm pesticide applicator licenses are current. Obtain recertification credits from lectures and courses like UMaine’s Plant Disease Diagnostics.
• Complete Enterprise Budgets.