Maine Weather and Climate

Abundant rainfall over the past three weeks has brought soil moisture, streamflows, and groundwater levels to normal or above normal nearly everywhere across Maine. In turn, the U.S. Drought Monitor map for the state is blank – so for now, drought conditions have ended. However, there may be some localized areas, particularly in York or Cumberland counties, where groundwater may not have fully recovered, and where year-to-date accumulated precipitation deficits still remain.  Additional information can be found on the Northeast Drought Early Warning System Dashboard.

Temperatures have been unseasonably warm statewide since the middle of October. The latest NOAA/NWS 10-day forecast shows the warm weather continuing through this weekend with high temperatures reaching into the low 70s in the south and high 60s in the north on Saturday and Sunday.  A cold trough is forecast to sweep through Monday – Wednesday with more seasonable temperatures and morning frost or freeze. Thursday onward may see another warm wave develop with morning/afternoon temperatures ranging high 30s to low 60s.  Some areas could see some rain on Sunday; otherwise the forecast shows a dry pattern for the next several days. Local weather forecasts are available at weather.gov.

The NOAA/National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center 8–14 day outlook probability maps (issued November 3, valid November 11–17) show above normal temperature and near to above normal precipitation. Peering into winter, the seasonal outlook product for November – December – January (issued October 20) suggests above normal temperature and equal chance of above or below normal precipitation.

Sean Birkel, Assistant Extension Professor, Maine State Climatologist, Climate Change Institute, Cooperative Extension University of Maine. For climate/weather questions related to agriculture, send Sean e-mail at birkel@maine.edu

New Small Business Specialist

Jason Entsminger has been named assistant professor of entrepreneurship and innovation and assistant Extension professor and small business specialist at the University of Maine. He comes to UMaine from the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD), hosted at Pennsylvania State University. NERCRD is one of four such centers established by USDA to coordinate research and Extension activities that support rural community development. There he led the center’s outreach-oriented mission, engaging with northeast land grant universities and rural development partners.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Entsminger will be joining the Maine Business School and UMaine Cooperative Extension in this new joint position,” shared Hannah Carter, dean of UMaine Extension. “This position addresses both academic and industry needs, and we expect Jason will have an immediate impact as he has a great deal of knowledge and experience especially as it relates to small, rural businesses.”

Entsminger earned his Ph.D. in agricultural and applied economics at the University of Missouri. He holds master’s degrees from the University of Florida and a consortium of European institutions. His three bachelor’s degrees are from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Click here for more information.

Maine’s Federal Delegation introduces the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act

All four members of Maine’s congressional delegation are co-sponsoring legislation that would authorize federal support for farmers impacted by PFAS contamination. Funds would be used to cover costs associated with testing of soil and water, blood monitoring, modifying cropping systems, implementing remediation strategies, educational programs, research on PFAS remediation systems, and farm relocation if land is no longer viable.

You can read the press release from the office of Senator Susan Collins, here.

GenerationNext Seminars 

• In Person: Waterville: Dec 7, 28, and Jan 25
• In-Person: Presque Isle: Dec 8, 29, and Jan 26
• Virtual (8 sessions): January 12 through March 2. Thursdays, 1-3pm.
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Fee: $199 (Free for Maine farmers) for 1 in-person series or 1 virtual series

GenerationNext is a series of seminars, hosted by Farm Credit East, geared towards farm workers or farm owners, designed to advance your management skills and farm business knowledge. Each seminar includes group discussions, idea sharing, and networking opportunities. The Maine New Farmers Project is offering a full scholarship for any new farmer in Maine to attend one of the seminars listed above. (Farmers pay when registering and get refunded after participating). For more information and registration.

H-2A Update

On October 12, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) published the final rule, “Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in the United States”, effective on November 14, 2022. This final rule amends the Department’s regulations governing the H-2A program to improve program protections for workers and enhance enforcement against fraud and abuse, while modernizing the H-2A application and temporary labor certification process. This final rule strengthens protections for U.S. workers and H-2A workers; enhances program integrity and enforcement capabilities of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification and the Wage and Hour Division; modernizes the prevailing wage determination process; and provides clarity to employers and other stakeholders.

QuickBooks for Farms Course

Starting Nov. 7th: SCORE Maine and University of Maine Cooperative Extension are pleased to offer this QuickBooks workshop series tailored to small farms and agriculture businesses. This important software can help with your invoicing, tracking sales and expenses, and handling your bookkeeping requirements for tax preparation. QuickBooks will let you sync your data across your computer, tablet and smart phone mobile devices when you need it. This is a hands-on workshop so you need either a desktop PC or a laptop available! The version we will use targets the PC platform and not the Apple laptop so please ensure you are a PC-based user. Free! More info and register here.

Small Grants to Support Agricultural Well-Being:

Are you an organization, municipality or entity serving agricultural or fishing communities in Maine? Do you have a project that addresses stress, wellness or safety in Agriculture? The Small Grants for Agricultural Wellness applications are open now until November 15th. Awards range from $1-$5,805, these grants can be used to support Maine farmers and fishers in their mental health and wellness needs (broadly defined).

Applications to the Small Grants Fund are expected to be competitive and to exceed the amount of funding available. Should this be the case, program administrators will rank applications based on a variety of criteria including projected impact, availability of requested services, and potential to support farmers and farm communities categorized by the USDA as historically socially disadvantaged or as Limited-Resource Farm Households. 

More information and to apply, can be found on the Maine FRSAN website. More details (including applications and FAQs in Spanish and Haitian Creole) about the opportunity can be found on the FAQ google document.

New social media from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension focuses on agricultural wellness and resilience

“A healthy farm is nothing without a healthy farmer.” Follow @mainefarmwellness on Instagram for resources, wellness tips, crisis support information, events and more.

Recipe to Market Program

University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer an online workshop for entrepreneurs and farmers interested in starting a home-based, specialty food business in Maine from 9 a.m.–noon on Nov. 18.

Recipe to Market is a multidisciplinary program with topics including business basics; an overview of the specialty food industry and product development; licensing and regulations; and food safety. Instructors include UMaine Extension professor emeritus Louis Bassano; School of Economics professor emeritus and Extension business specialist Jim McConnon; and Extension food science specialist, professor of food science and director of UMaine Food Testing Services Beth Calder.

The fee is $35; registration is required. Financial assistance is available. Register and find more details on the event registration page. For more information or to request reasonable accommodation, contact Melissa Libby Babcock, melissa.libby1@maine.edu; 207.581.2788 or 800.287.0274 (Maine only).

Solar Sheep Survey

Cornell is conducting a survey to inform the future of agrivoltaics, specifically to “identify and quantify the need for a cooperative or other business owned by multiple farmers to provide logistical, transport, marketing, and/or processing services for both farmers grazing and not grazing sheep beneath solar arrays”.

The Cornell University Cooperative Enterprise Program, in collaboration with the American Solar Grazing Association (ASGA) and through support of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Federal State Marketing Improvement Program, is conducting a survey intended for existing sheep farmers (solar grazing or not), other farmers considering sheep production, and new or beginning farmers. The survey should take between 15 and 20 minutes to complete. Persons completing the survey and sharing their name and email address (or mailing address) at the end of the survey will be eligible for one of three $100 Amazon gift cards (one survey per farmer only).

The web-based (Qualtrics) survey is available here: https://tinyurl.com/ybuzkru6

Survey deadline December 22, 2022!

Any questions or comments can be sent to; 

Todd M. Schmit, Professor, tms1@cornell.edu.

Bobbie Severson, Extension Associate, rmh27@cornell.edu

AgLaunch

AgLaunch is hosting 6 livestock agtech start-ups solving on-farm issues. Sponsored by Farm Journal.

·     AgButler digital marketplace, bringing the gig economy to agriculture

·     ECOW helps dairy farmers increase milk yield, profitability and decrease methane emissions.

·     GenoTwin focuses on infectious disease biosurveillance and sustainability for livestock

·     Motion Grazer AI uses camera, computer, and algorithms to improve animal health, welfare and productivity.

·     ReproHealth Technologies uses embryology and engineering to create devices to improve cattle production.

·     Tracker Sled stabilize farmers’ energy and fertilizer costs while affording a path to carbon-free farming, increasing profits, and rural economic renewal.