Wild Blueberry Newsletter, February 2016

Wild Blueberry Newsletter header graphic, text and a photo of blueberries and leaves

February 2016

2016 Wild Blueberry Spring Meetings

Ellsworth

  • Date: Tuesday, March 22, 2016
  • Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.
  • Location: Hancock County Extension Office, 63 Boggy Brook Road, Ellsworth, Maine

Waldoboro

  • Date: Thursday, March 24, 2016
  • Time: 6:00-9:00 p.m.
  • Location: Knox-Lincoln County Extension Office, 377 Manktown Road, Waldoboro, Maine

Machias

  • Date: Saturday, March 26, 2016
  • Time: 1:00-4:00 p.m.
  • Location: University of Maine, Machias, Science Bldg., Room 102, O’Brien Avenue, Machias, Maine

Agenda

  • 1:00 p.m. (All others: 6:00 p.m.): World Blueberry Crop Situation, David Yarborough, University of Maine
  • 1:15 p.m. (All others: 6:15 p.m.): New Blueberry Crop Insurance Options, Erin Roche, University of Maine
  • 1:30 p.m. (All others: 6:30 p.m.): Computer Sprayer Calibration Program Demonstration, Jennifer Cote, University of Maine
  • 1:50 p.m. (All others: 6:50 p.m.): Valdensinia, Leaf spots and Mummy berry research results, Seanna Annis, University of Maine
  • 2:20 p.m. (All others: 7:20 p.m.): Break
  • 2:40 p.m. (All others: 7:40 p.m.): SWD Findings Update, Elissa Ballman or  Judy Collins, University of Maine
  • 3:00 p.m. (All others: 8:00 p.m.): BPC Update/Pollinator Protection, Staff, Board of Pesticides Control
  • 4:00 p.m. (All others: 9:00 p.m.): Adjourn

Two re-certification credits available for licensed pesticide applicators!

USDA Wildlife Services Update

The USDA Wildlife Service’s lease-to-own fencing program was originally created as a five-year program but has now been changed to a three-year lease-to-own program. The cooperator is required to make the first payment before materials are shipped and the following two payments annually. If the fence is not what you envisioned, you can return it, however, they only accept fencing that is in good condition. The USDA Wildlife Service strongly encourages cooperators to call them first to discuss any issues and/or problems they are having, since many times they are able to work through and troubleshoot issues, before returning the fence.

The fencing materials are not offered at a “reduced rate”- the prices match retail prices, but the payment system is designed to make purchasing the fence more affordable for small scale growers/farmers who may not want to make a significant financial commitment all at once.

Please contact Melanie McVety, USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, 79 Leighton Road, Suite 12, Augusta, Maine 04330, 207.629.5181 (office), 207.592.3816 (cell), 207.629.5182 (fax), about this program.

Blueberry Equipment Wanted or For Sale

As many of you know, we recently added a page on the blueberry website to post blueberry equipment growers wanted or had for sale.  Many growers have used this opportunity to post ads and have been successful in obtaining or selling their equipment.  We now need growers, who have placed ads, to look at their ad on the “wild blueberry equipment wanted or for sale” web page and let us know if they still need us to retain their ad.  For those placing an ad in the future, please remember to let us know when you sell your equipment or find the item(s) you are looking for so that we can keep the web page up-to-date.  Please contact Phoebe Nylund, phoebe.nylund@maine.edu, to place or remove an ad from the blueberry website. If you want to post equipment for sale, please remember to send a full description of the equipment, your asking price, and your contact information. Thanks for helping us with this project!

Sincerely,

Dave

David E. Yarborough
Extension Blueberry Specialist

Wild blueberry fact sheets, past newsletters, contacts, resource links, calendar of events, and more can be found on the Cooperative Extension’s Maine Wild Blueberries website.

Information in this publication is provided purely for educational purposes. No responsibility is assumed for any problems associated with the use of products or services mentioned. No endorsement of products or companies is intended, nor is criticism of unnamed products or companies implied.

© 2016

Call 800.287.0274 (in Maine), or 207.581.3188, for information on publications and program offerings from University of Maine Cooperative Extension, or visit extension.umaine.edu.

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