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Your Monthly News & Updates
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Make sure your farm counts!
NASS conducts a census of all agricultural operations every five years as well as other agricultural surveys. We need to know about all types of agricultural operations of all sizes. The Information you provide is kept confidential by law and will not be disclosed to any other government or private entity.
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New Farmers' Market - Howland
The Howland Farmers' and Artisans' Market is looking for farmers and artisans to participate in their new market this summer. They are looking at the park downtown as the site and looking at a Sunday market day. If you are interested in learning more contact Jaime Boyington Rogers at jboyingtonrogers@emhs.org.
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Avian Influenza Update from UMaine Animal Health Lab
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What not to do! Unlike the bird in this picture, keep your birds separate from wild birds. Photo by Anne Lichtenwalner
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"H7 avian influenza has been identified in Georgia; you can find the link to the News
Release
here
. Please refer to the USDA-VS newsroom
link
, Tennessee (
TN
), Alabama (
AL
) and Kentucky (
KY
) Department of Agriculture websites for updates on the AI status in their respective states.
While the case has been identified in a state that resides partially in the eastern flyway, the case was identified in the extreme western part of the state and is not yet a concern for impacting our flyway. Keep in mind this is a rapidly evolving situation and this can change at a moment's notice.
Again, this is a great reminder to be vigilant about biosecurity and remind your producers to report unexplained sick birds." - Maine State Veterinarian Justin Bergeron
Please be aware that wildlife agencies also survey for Avian Influenza in wild birds, and that low pathogenicity AI does occur sometimes in wild birds in our region. It is difficult to do, but it is essential to keep your birds separate from wild birds: separate from water, feed, dust or feces that wild birds have contaminated. If you lose birds suddenly and would like our to test for AI, please let the state vet know and also contact the University of Maine Animal Health Lab at 207.581.2788.
Click here for the latest updates on Avian Influenza from the UMaine Animal Health Lab
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2017 Maine Poultry Seminar
Saturday, April 29, 2017
9:00 AM - 2:45 PM
Kennebec Valley Community College, 95 Western Ave. Carter Auditorium, Fairfield, ME
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Photo: Remsberg
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Presentations will be made on:
No Charge for this Program.
Lunch on your own. Bring your brown bag lunch with you. Working lunch on producer issues and discussing topics of interest for future newsletters/programs.
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Overuse of Antibiotics Brings Risks for Bees and Us
Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin have found that honeybees treated with a common antibiotic were half as likely to survive the week after treatment compared with a group of untreated bees, a finding that may have health implications for bees and people alike.
The scientists found the antibiotics cleared out beneficial gut bacteria in the bees, making way for a harmful pathogen, which also occurs in humans, to get a foothold. The research is the latest discovery to indicate overuse of antibiotics can sometimes make living things, including people, sicker.
The discovery has relevance for beekeepers and the agriculture industry. A decade ago, U.S. beekeepers began finding their hives decimated by what became known as colony collapse disorder. Millions of bees mysteriously disappeared, leaving farms with fewer pollinators for crops. Explanations for the phenomenon have included exposure to pesticides, habitat loss and bacterial infections, but the scientists now say antibiotics given to bees could also play a role.
Source:
UT News, March 14, 2017
Join the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry's Apiculturist, Jennifer Lund at one of three open hive training sessions geared towards veterinarians and beekeepers interested in learning more about honey bees and hive inspections. Participants will get a close-up look at the inside of a hive and learn how to inspect hives for pests and diseases. Hive trainings run from 10am-1pm and are free. For more information contact jennifer.lund@maine.gov.
**A limited amount of protective equipment will be available so please bring veils/beesuits and gloves with you. Please click the link below to register for the session you are interested in attending.
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Spring is here, so it's time to think about the outdoors and proper protection against ticks. Maine had 1,171 cases of Lyme disease reported in 2015. Ticks are primarily active in warmer months. Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is caused by a bite from an infected deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). Individuals who work or play outside are more likely to be exposed to ticks. The most common and visible symptom of Lyme disease is a red bulls-eye rash that grows and appears within 3-30 days of exposure. Other symptoms may include fevers, and joint or muscle pain.
Lyme disease is treatable and most individuals recover completely with a proper drugs. However, the easiest way to avoid the disease is prevention, using "No Ticks 4 ME":
1) Use caution in tick infested areas 2) Wear protective clothing 3) Use an EPA approved repellent 4) Perform daily tick checks after any outdoor activity
A tick must be attached for a minimum of 24 hours before the infection can be passed on, further stressing the need for prompt and proper tick removal. If you are bitten by a tick, or work in a known tick habitat, watch for symptoms for up to 30 days, and call a healthcare provider if symptoms develop.
Remember that the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the only tick that can transmit Lyme disease, but there are other species of ticks throughout the state that can carry other diseases. Tick identification references are available to order online at Maine CDC's website. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension Tick ID Lab offers free identification services and educational resources to manage ticks.
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Introduction to Farm Accounting with QuickBooks Pro (TM)
Thursday, May 4, 2017
9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
UMaine Cooperative Extension Penobscot County Office,
307 Maine Avenue, Bangor, Maine 04401
Venue Phone: 207.942.7396 or 800.287.1485 (in Maine)
Registration Cost: Free
Preregistration is required. Class is limited to 15. Please contact Pam St. Peter at
pamela.stpeter@maine.edu or 207.933.2100 to register or request a disability accommodation.
This free workshop is for farmers who are first-time users or have less than a year's experience with QuickBooks. The presenters, QuickBooks ProAdvisors from Austin Associates, will demonstrate how to set up and use accounts, perform invoicing, deposits, and reporting using QuickBooks Pro™. Participants may bring a laptop but it is not required.
The workshop is sponsored by the UMaine Cooperative Extension Crop Insurance Education Program.
Participants will be entered in a drawing to win a QuickBooks Pro™ subscription.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is in partnership with the USDA Risk Management Agency to deliver crop insurance education in Maine.
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Blueberry Integrated Crop Management Field Training Sessions
One hour of pesticide recertification credit per session. FMI click here. Field training at three locations - 3 sessions at each location this spring.
Field Day Location Dates
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Location
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Knox/Lincoln Counties Tuesday, May 2, May 30 & June 27
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Donna Dolham Route 235, 2740 Western Road Warren, ME
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Washington County Wednesday, May 3, May 31 & June 28
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Blueberry Hill Farm 1643 Route 1 Jonesboro, ME
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Hancock County Thursday, May 4, June 1 & June 29
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G. M. Allen's Freezer Route 15 Orland, ME
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Items of Interest
- The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry's Farm Labor Link resource includes more information on finding employees for your farm, training those employees, and ensuring that you are complying with state and federal labor laws.
- Specialty Crop Block Grant Requests due May 9th - A copy of the RFP can be obtained by contacting the Department's RFP Coordinator for this project: Ashley Sears, Marketing Specialist/Special Projects at Ashley.Sears@maine.gov or mailing address: 28 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333.
- Maine Tractor Safety Courses around the state - open to adults and youth, priority given to youth 14 - 16. Required for your 14 - 15 planning to operate equipment for hire on farms other than their own.
- "Your Farm is Trying to Kill You" recently posted in Politico.com
- "(Mis)information and the politicization of food security" by Smyth, Philips and Castle in Animal Frontiers, vol 7, no.2, 2017.
- Rural Tax Education: Farmers, ranchers, other agricultural producers and Extension educators will find on this website a source for agriculturally related income and self-employment tax information that is both current and easy to understand.
- IRS Farmers Tax Guide #225
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- Maine Hay Directory - You can list hay that you have for sale or you can look for hay to buy. Listings are free.
- Open Positions:
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Featured Resources
APPs: GoForager: a web-based application to streamline the entire sourcing process so producers and buyers can grow and share locally grown products. It's a digital procurement and payment platform to make local sourcing easy.
Webinars: April 27 Universal Design: Design for ease of use in the home, shop and barnfrom 1-2:30 p.m. and will focus on the principles of universal design, perceptions of disability, and practical applications that can help to maintain and increase independence. Presenters include occupational therapist Ketra Crosson and architect Jill Johanning, who is with Alpha One; and Maine AgrAbility staff member Ellen Gibson. Register for the webinar online. No-Till Tuesdays - The University of Vermont is hosting this webinar series at 10:00 am. These 45 minute webinars will feature a variety of topics for new and experienced no-till farmers.
Programs: FarmWorks.com has a cloud based program that helps with recordkeeping and analysis for the farm production and business needs.
Websites:
Grow and Tell: allows gardeners to rate what vegetable grew well, not so well and which ones tasted the best. It does include location. Started by University of Alaska.
Further with Food
is designed to be a central hub to find and share information and tools dedicated to reducing food loss and waste in the United States.
Publications:
Maps, Apps and Mobile Marketing ANR-53 - The Ohio State University -
Trends evolve quickly as emerging technologies reveal opportunities based on new apps and gadgets. Businesses can benefit by staying close to customers and technology trends in order to do what they have always done with marketing: create awareness; offer trial experiences to demonstrate value; create remarkable experiences; build customer relationships based on trust; and deliver service focused on customer convenience.
Visit the UMaine Extension online
Publications Catalog
for agriculture information, such as:
- Plum Production in Maine #2034 The resurgence in demand for locally-grown fresh fruit has created an opportunity for Maine farmers to grow and sell plums. Farmers who plan to establish a plum orchard should consider how the cultural requirements of plums will affect their operation. Covers plum varieties, planting, harvesting, and much more! 20 pages. © 2017 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free or buy a color copy $3.50.
- Adding a High Tunnel to Your Maine Farming: Observations from a Statewide Study #1026 In 2011, University of Maine Cooperative Extension staff visited 31 Maine farmers to talk about their high tunnel production practices, benefits, and challenges. This four-page publication is based on some of the results and observations that can help farmers effectively plan for and use high tunnels to increase profitability. 4 pages. © 2013 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free or buy a color copy $1.00.
- Avian Influenza and the Backyard Flock 2015 # 2019 This two-page publication discusses avian influenza, biosecurity and what the backyard poultry owner can do to protect their birds from AI disease. 3 pages. © 2015 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free or buy a color copy $0.50.
- Pros and Cons of Poultry Swaps in New England #2116 Chicken swaps or poultry swaps are quite popular in different parts of the country. A poultry swap is an organized event at which poultry keepers sell live birds of various species to others - typically "swapping" birds for cash. Learn more about the the advantages and drawbacks of participating in a chicken swap. 3 pages. © 2015 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free or buy a color copy $0.50.
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Upcoming Events
- April 20 to 22, 2017 27th Annual National Belted Galloway Sale and Fryeburg Youth Show
- April 22, 2017 Birding Walk at the Law Farm. The PCSWCD welcomes birding expert Bob Duchesne for a guided morning birdwalk. Join us at 8:00AM for introductions, and the walk starts at 8:30AM. RSVP is required by calling, 207-564-2321 x3.
- April 24 to 28, 2017 Maine Meat Cutters School, Central Maine Meats, Gardiner Sponsored by UMaine Extension. Dr. Gregg Rentfrom, Penn State Meat Specialist is the lead instructor. More details click here.
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- April 28 & 29, 2017 New England Meat Conference in Manchester, NH.
- April 29, 2017 Maine Poultry Seminar, 9 am to 2:30 pm, Kennebec Valley Community College, Fairfield. Please register by April 26th with Melissa Libby at melissa.libby1@maine.edu or at 207-581-2788 (800-287-7170 in Maine only) with your name and contact information so that if the program changes, we can let you know.
- May 4, 2017 Introduction to Farm Accounting with QuickBooks Pro(TM). 9 am to noon Penobscot County Extension Office, 307 Maine Ave., Bangor. This free workshop is for farmers who are first-time users or have less than a year's experience with QuickBooks. The presenters, QuickBooks ProAdvisors from Austin Associates, will demonstrate how to set up and use accounts, perform invoicing, deposits, and reporting using QuickBooks Pro™. Participants will be entered in a drawing to win a QuickBooks Pro™ subscription. Preregistration is required. Class is limited to 15. Please contact Pam St. Peter at pamela.stpeter@maine.edu or 207.933.2100 to register or request a disability accommodation.
- May 6, 2017 Annual Maine Greenhouse and Nursery Day. Posters will again be available at Spring Meeting as well as downloadable from the website, www.plants4maine.com.
- May 11, 2017 Kitchen Licensing Workshop 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Common Ground Education Center, Unity. Designed for farmers and others interested in home-food processing for resale. Information.
- May 17 - 18, 2017 Organic Farming Principles and Practices, Common Ground Education Center, Unity.
- May 19 - 21, 2017 Northeast Livestock Expo, Windsor Fair Grounds. Kids Day is Friday.
- May 22 - 24, 2017 3rd National Farm Viability Conference, Albany Capital Center, Albany, NY. Click here for more details.
- May 25, 2017 Poultry Processing Class - MOFGA, Unity
- May 30, 2017 Buying Local Meat, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, Bucksport Adult Ed - 469-2129
- June 3,4 2017 17th Annual Maine Fiber Frolic, Windsor, ME
- June 15th, 2017 Maine B2B Trade Show, at The Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston: The Maine B2B celebrates business, entrepreneurship, and creativity. Visit Rural Development staff to learn more about the Business and Cooperative Program loans, grants, and guarantees. Rural Development can assist with nearly every aspect of business development, from marketing to land acquisition, to refinancing.
- June 11, 2017 Farm and Homestead Day - MOFGA, Unity
- July 6, 2017 Poultry Processing Class - MOFGA, Unity
- July 27 & 28, 2017 Kneading Conference
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Newsletter Subscription Information
The Central Maine Farming Newsletter (CMFN), now received by over 875 readers, has been offered as an educational resource by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension for over 10 years. On January 1, 2015 the CMFN transitioned to electronic-only delivery. There is still
three
ways to receive the CMFN from your local UMaine Extension:
1) Central Maine Farming Newsletter remains available online for free! You can sign up to receive the newsletter through your email or view the archived issues anytime at http://bit.ly/PPfarming If you currently do not have an email, you can get one for free from several email hosts. If you do not have a computer, community libraries have computers for you to use to access information on the Internet and to view your email.
2) Those with no email can opt to pay an annual subscription to receive the newsletters monthly for $15/year by contacting your County office.
3) A third option is to come into the Piscataquis, Penobscot or Waldo County Extension Offices and pick up a free printed copy of the newsletter.
We appreciate our readers referring others to the newsletter, and sharing it with their family and friends.
Thank you for your continued support of the CMFN, providing valuable agricultural information from Extension for folks in the central Maine area since 2003.
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Mission
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension is the major educational outreach program of the University of Maine with offices statewide. UMaine Extension provides Maine people with research-based educational programs to help them live fuller, more productive lives.
Mention or display of a trademark, proprietary product, or firm in text or figures does not constitute an endorsement and does not imply approval to the exclusion of other suitable products or firms.
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Quick Links
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Local Weather Anytime
Many farming activities are driven by the weather. Our local National Weather Service in Caribou has meteorologists on staff 24 hours a day. They are willing to talk with you about rain predictions for your town. Give them a call at 492-0180. Or check out their online detailed maps at
http://www.weather.gov/car/.
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Need Pesticide credits? Check out the Maine Board of Pesticide credit calendar. Many approved pesticide applicator re-certification programs are listed. |
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Contributors
Donna Coffin, Extension Educator
Rick Kersbergen, Extension Educator
Goal
The goal of the Central Maine Farming Newsletter is to provide timely information on the production and marketing of crops and livestock grown in central Maine.
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he University of Maine does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, including transgender status and gender expression, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, genetic information or veteran status in employment, education, and all other programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Director, Office of Equal Opportunity, 101 North Stevens Hall, 207.581.1226.
Photos: Donna Coffin unless indicated otherwise.
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Open Monday - Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm 307 Maine Ave. Bangor, ME 04401 207-942-7396 or 800-287-1485
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Open Monday, Thursday, Friday
8 am to 4:30 pm,
Open By-chance on Wednesday
, Closed Tuesday
165 East Main St. Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426 207-564-3301 or 800-287-1491
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Open Monday - Friday
8 am to 4:30 pm
992 Waterville Road, Waldo, ME 04915-3117 Phone: 207.342.5971 or 800.287.1426 (in Maine)
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