The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) has adopted rules to prohibit the sale and distribution of thirty-three terrestrial plants that were deemed invasive. The plants were reviewed by a specially-convened committee of horticulture professionals, land managers, foresters, wildlife biologists and other scientists. The new rule went into effect on January 14, 2017, but the prohibition of sales does not begin until January 1, 2018.

"The plants on this list have invaded farms, fields, forests and wetlands throughout the state," said Commissioner Walt Whitcomb. "Although many were originally promoted with good intentions, such as, the prevention of soil erosion or to support wildlife, they have spread throughout Maine to the detriment of native species. In many places they have come to dominate forests, wetlands, fields and local landscapes, excluding native plants that support our economy and natural areas."

"All but three of the prohibited plants have been, or continue to be sold in the nursery trade, said Gary Fish, Maine State Horticulturist. "Some of them have already been discontinued by nurseries which recognized their harmful potential. Three are not intentionally sold, but are "horticultural hitchhikers" which sprout as weeds in the pots and rootballs of plants sold in the nursery trade. A few of the plants are still in some demand, including Japanese barberry, burning bush, privet and Norway maple, especially the crimson king variety. Maine nurseries and garden centers will have until January 1, 2018, to sell stock already on hand."

Many non-invasive alternatives are available to help homeowners and nursery professionals satisfy their landscape needs without using the invasive plants on the list.   

MDACF Commissioner Walt Whitcomb announced six (6) Agricultural Development Grant Program awards totaling $248,375. The projects address needs in the agricultural industry for improvements in the profitability of Maine grown crops; reducing costs associated with drought or other natural crop disturbances; product enhancements for value added, nutrition, marketing and/or food safety; and national, local and regional market development.

These projects have been identified as:

• Maine Aquaculture Co-Op of Tenants Harbor ($46,000) - Maine Scallop Aquaculture: Development of Ear-Hung Scallop Aquaculture Infrastructure through Cooperative Model and New Technologies
• Maine Cap N Stem, LLC of Gardiner($32,600) - Project to Increase Production Capacity of B2B Mushroom Farm to Meet Maine Demand
• Maine Landscape and Nursery Association of Augusta ($50,000) - Plant a pollinator Garden! Promotion to support Maine's Nursery Industry
• The Hop Yard, LLC of Portland ($19,775) - Creating Viable Commercial Hop Bales
• Undine Marine, LLC of Damariscotta ($50,000) - Construction and beta testing of the Mark II Submersible Mussel Raft in Maine
• Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine of Orono ($50,000) - Wild Blueberry School Foodservice Program

The Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry may allocate the grant funds among projects involving market research, market promotion, or a combination of those activities for the purpose of expanding existing markets and developing new markets for agricultural products produced in Maine; or for testing and demonstrating new technologies related to the production, storage or processing of State agricultural products.

It is anticipated that another Agricultural Development Fund RFP will be released in the future.

	Photo: Edwin Remsberg

Michigan State University-led research has found a big difference in the yields produced by alternative agricultural practices in commercial fields compared with the same practices in the small experimental plots ordinarily used to test them.

These differences have important implications for closing the global yield gap between research plots and farmer fields, especially for low-input practices adopted by organic farmers in the United States and by resource-strapped farmers in less developed regions.

The study, published in the latest issue of PNAS, compared the yields of a crop rotation of wheat, corn and soybeans under three different management practices: conventional, low-input and organic. The tests were conducted at small experimental plots and the much larger commercial field level. Though researchers found no appreciable difference in the yields produced at either level for conventional crop management, they noted a significant yield gap for both low-input and organic management.
According to Sasha Kravchenko, lead author and MSU plant biologist, this difference can be attributed to the additional challenges that large-scale production presents to both low-input and organic practices. Conventional management relies on the uniform application of chemical inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides, practices that can easily be scaled up to larger fields. In contrast, low-input and organic management require much more labor-intensive work, as well as the cultivation of cover crops, which is more difficult to perform consistently on large tracts of land. Because of the difficulty of scaling up low-input and organic practices to commercial fields, those farmers may see as much as a 30 percent lower yield than research suggests.

Webinars:

Predator Control for Backyard Poultry Flocks - eXtension.org, Feb. 7 at 3 pm. Predators can be a problem with any poultry farm, large or small. This webinar will discuss some of the predators of concern and methods to minimize losses to predators. The presenter will be Dr. Matt Springer at the University of Kentucky. This webinar is free and will be archived.

Publications:  

• Maple Syrup Quality Control Manual #7038 This maple syrup producers' manual presents production techniques to ensure high quality maple syrup and syrup products. Discusses equipment care and quality, cleanliness, the sap collection process, sap processing, and packing. Includes appendix with relevant Maine regulations. 13 pages. © 2002, 2007 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free or buy a color copy $1.50.
• Licensing and Regulations for Maple Syrup Processing in Maine #7041 Harvesters in Maine produce about 17% of the country's maple syrup -- nearly 550,000 gallons. The annual value of maple syrup production in Maine is nearly $18 million. If you are interested in getting a license to sell maple syrup there are things you need to know first. 5 pages. © 2014 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free or buy a color copy $0.75.