A sunny, dry weather pattern has developed across northern New England and is forecast for the next week. Temperatures across Maine will be mild over the weekend with lows ranging approximately 30-40°F north to south, and highs ranging in the 50s to around 60°F statewide. Gradual warming along with increasing humidity is forecast through the week. Local weather forecasts are available from weather.gov. Refer to the NOAA/National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center (CPC) for longer-range temperature and precipitation outlooks. The CPC currently projects high probability of above normal temperatures, and a lean towards lower than normal precipitation through the middle of May.

A new feature column from Sean Birkel, Assistant Extension Professor, Maine State Climatologist, Climate Change Institute, Cooperative Extension University of Maine. Have any climate/weather questions related to agriculture? Send Sean an email at birkel@maine.edu

The PFAS Testing Grants Program is available to all commercial farms throughout the state. The program is administered by MFT and MOFGA to assist farmers who have concerns regarding potential PFAS contamination. The Program will pay for:

A simple application form will assess eligibility for the program and several farms will be selected upon a weekly review to participate in the program.

Get full eligibility requirements and program details here.

Looking for support developing your food safety plans? This project will fund an Extension Educator, trained in Produce Safety, to work with you one-on-one on your individualized farm food safety plan. Fill out the form linked below to apply for the project.

Participation is on a first-come-first-served basis, as well as farm size (small to medium-sized farms, not fully covered by FSMA, will be given preference).

MOFGA and Maine Farmland Trust are collaborating again to create a regular Maine Produce Market Report this year, and we need produce farmers to provide input for each report. We are looking for ~20 farmers who sell a diversity of fruit and/or produce to wholesale as well as direct-to-consumer markets, and who can commit to filling out a google form (5-10 minutes) once every other week through the growing season. Farmers will be paid, and your anonymous responses will be shared with report readers. We have designed a new form for submitting your data and are planning on a new report emphasis, focusing more on identifying specific crop gaps & surpluses for each 2 week period. If you’re interested in this opportunity, please read on and fill out the application. In light of requests to make the report more transparent, we have created this application process to give more farmers the opportunity to participate.

Interested in participating? Apply here by 5/1!

Now is the time! This annual agritourism promotion happens in October (10/9/2022 this year). There is no fee to join promotions, but you must sign up via Real Maine.

The Harvest and Storage Farm Visit is an opportunity for new farmers with fewer than 10 years of experience to learn about good harvest and storage practices while networking with other farmers. Paul Schultz, co-owner and co-operator of King Hill Farm, leads the farm visit.

The fee is $10; registration is required and limited to 25. Register on the event webpage. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Chris Howard, 207.944.6391; christina.howard@maine.edu. More information also is available on the UMaine Extension Maine New Farmers Project website, supported by the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Source: Direct Farm Sales of Food, Results from the 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, ACH17-27/April 2022

May 13, 2022

Viles Arboretum, Education Center

125 Hospital Street, Augusta

Agenda

Cost of the seminar/lunch (pulled pork) is $20 per person. Make checks payable to Maine Pork Producers, 695 Woodman Hill Rd., Minot, ME 04258. FMI brittany@hemondsmx.com or call 207-212-9930.

Lunch count needed by May 9th.

Current update for high pathogenic avian influenza as of April 22, 2022.

No new cases since April 4, 2022 Go to the MDACF site for current status.

There are several forms of influenza (AI) that can affect poultry: relatively non-pathogenic (low path AI; LPAI) and the more dangerous form (high path AI; HPAI). If you see severe illness and sudden death losses in your flock, you should call the regional USDA hotline: 866.536.7593, and also let your farm vet know. If your flock is experiencing losses, but you doubt that they are due to HPAI, then you should have a necropsy conducted; the University of Maine Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory can assist farmers in our region.

Maine Office of Tourism is in the midst of strategic planning – they want farmer input!

Three ways to share your opinion: take a survey, attend an in-person event, virtual call—or all of the above.