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Your Monthly News & Updates
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News and events for the Maine Beef Producers from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry, Maine Beef Producers Association and other agricultural organizations in Maine.
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What's New?
- Fall Preconditioned Feeder Calf Sale is ON!
- Beef Quality Assurance and Low Stress Cattle Handling Workshop
- Northeast SARE Seeks Farmer Grants
- Indiana Livestock Tour
- Deadline approaching for pasture and forage rainfall index crop insurance
- Nxlevel Farm Business Training
- Cattlemen's College
- National Beef Prices
- Items of Interest *Featured Resources
- Upcoming Events *Newsletter Subscription Information
- Mission and Quick Links
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Fall Preconditioned Feeder Calf Sale is ON!
Saturday, November 2nd
Sale starts at noon - Preview at 9 am
Dick Brown Sales and Service, 481 Main Road, Richmond
Maine Beef Producers Association is holding a fall preconditioned feeder calf auction this fall at Dick Brown's facility in Richmond. Currently there are 45 head consigned with room for more. If you are interested in consigning contact
Pete Dusoe at 207-437-5441 or pbdusoe@roadrunner.com.
Pre-conditioning protocol is available at
As a reminder to Cow-calf producers preconditioning includes weaning calves and starting the first course of shots 30 days before the sale. Last course of vaccines should be completed two-weeks before the sale. New this year, Dick Brown is willing to do the preconditioning weaning and vaccinations at his farm. Contact Dick at 207-737-8650 for details.
Preconditioning reduces the incidence of respiratory disease and enteritis by increasing the immunity of the calf in preparation for the stress of weaning and shipping. Dehornings and castrations should be healed by sale day.
Some cow calf producers consigning animals to the sale can also sign affidavits attesting that their animals have been raised under the MBPA Natural Meats program protocol of never having received hormones, antibiotics, or feeds or feed supplements containing animal-by-products.
And/or producers can sign an affidavit that their animals are 100% grass (forage) fed, no grains, grain-by-products, grain crops, grain crop silages, or other prohibited feeds under the USDA grass fed guidelines have been fed.
If you are interested in selling animals or have questions contact Sale Manager, Pete Dusoe at 207-437-5441 or
pbdusoe@roadrunner.com .
Pre-conditioning protocol is available at
There will be an educational program for youth in the morning. "
What to look for in a feeder calf"
by Dr. Colt Knight also a discussion of the Calves 4 Kids program to let you know what it is all about.
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Join Dr. Colt W. Knight, UMaine Extension Livestock Specialist, and the owners of Findview Farm in Gorham, for an evening discussion of some key issues with Maine raised beef cattle.
This workshop will be held at Findview Farm, 147 Mighty Street, Gorham, Maine on October 15th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.
Topics will include the differences between grass and grain-fed beef, low stress handling, and beef quality assurance. All participants will have the opportunity to become certified in Beef Quality Assurance and learn why BQA is so crucial to the industry. There will be demonstrations of low-stress handling techniques, which improve productivity, beef production, and reduce stress on both cattle and handlers.
Program fee $10, Contact Becky Gray at rebecca.gray@maine.edu or phone 781-6099.
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Due 5 p.m. ET on December 3, 2019
The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program has released the call for applications for 2020 Farmer Grant projects. Proposals are due online by 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 3, 2019.
Farmer Grants provide research funds for commercial farms to explore new ideas in almost any aspect of production, marketing and other topics that influence successful farming in the region. Application materials, including detailed instructions and supporting documents, are posted on the Northeast SARE website at
www.northeastsare.org/FarmerGrant.
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Indiana Livestock Tour
Colt Knight and Donna Coffin were fortunate to be able to attend an Animal Science Pre-tour as part of the National Association of County Agriculture Agents Association Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference in Fort Wayne, IN.
We visited a number of cattle farms including the Joseph Decuis Wagyu Farm in Columbia Cite, IN. Instead of playing music for the cattle, he plays recordings of baseball games. (He used to be a player.)
Our colleagues put together a few pictures of the tour
here.
Donna also was able to go on another tour that included a visit to Cook's Bison Ranch. They had a people mover that they took right into the pasture with the cows and calves.
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Deadline Approaching for Pasture and Forage Rainfall Index Crop Insurance
Please share the
attached announcement (pdf)
about the Pasture, Rangeland and Forage (PRF) program. This crop insurance policy protects grazing or haying acres from a single peril- lack of precipitation using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Producers must enroll with a crop insurance agent before the November 15
th
deadline for 2020 coverage.
To learn more about PRF and to hear from a Massachusetts farmer who has used the policy, please view the following
webinar
recorded last year.
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Nxlevel Farm Business Training
Where? At the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Deering Building, located at 90 Blossom Lane off Route 9 in Augusta.
When? 9:00 AM -3:30 PM on December 18, January 8 & 29, February 12 & 26, and March 11. Lunch provided.
Remote participation available. While all six sessions will take place live in Augusta, you can participate in one or all of them remotely via any internet-linked computer. Recordings of each class will also be available to all participants.
Cost is $275 per farm. Up to 2 people from each farm can attend each class.
A la carte registration available too. Don't want to sign up for all six sessions? You can sign up for just the ones you want to attend as well at cost of $50 per session.
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Cattlemen's College
December 6, 2019
Pre-event- Cattle handling facilities tour and BBQ in the Garland Area. Afternoon and evening.
December 7, 2019
Cattlemen's College
Penobscot County Extension Office
307 Maine Avenue (by the airport)
Bangor
Plenty of parking next to the building!
How to build a cheap cattle scale for the small scale farm.
We will again have vendors showing their products.
More details in the next newsletter.
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National Beef Prices
USDA Ag Marketing Service
publishes agriculture price for a number of commodities throughout the US. Here is the latest cattle dashboard graph showing the current, last year and three year average of live cattle.
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Information
- Foods of animal origin: a prescription for global health Animal Frontiers, Volume 9, Issue 4, October 2019.
- Painting cows to resemble zebras reduces biting flies. Japanese scientists found a 50% reduction in biting flies on cows with zebra stripes.
- The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) has launched an online form to collect information to plan the 79th annual Maine Ag Trades Show.This ‘pre-registration reservation’ form is a change from previous years. The new tool will help DACF survey the interest of participants and collect information to plan the upcoming show, scheduled for January 14, 15, 16, 2020 at the Augusta Civic Center. DACF will use the responses to select participants and assign conference, exhibit, and presentation spaces.
Grants & Loans
Equipment, supplies, etc.
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Videos:
APP:
- Canopeo is a rapid and accurate green canopy cover measurement tool. Use this app to quantify the percent canopy cover of live green vegetation for any agricultural crop, turf, or grassland based on downward-facing photos taken with your mobile device. (iOS or Android)
Publications:
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- October 15, 2019 Beef Quality Assurance and Low Stress Cattle Handling, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at Findview Farm, 147 Mighty Street, Gorham, Maine, with Colt Knight, UMaine Extension Livestock Specialist. Program fee $10, Contact Becky Gray at rebecca.gray@maine.edu or phone 781-6099.
- October 17, 2019 Maine Beef Producers Association Board Meeting, KVCC Alfond Campus, Clinton.
- October 26, 2019 Educate 2 Cultivate: Veterans Business & Assistive Technology Symposium, 9 am to 3 pm, Augusta Armory, 129 Western Ave, Augusta. $20 includes lunch. Hosted by University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s Maine AgrAbility program and the United Farmer Veterans of Maine.
- November 2, 2019 MBPA Preconditioned Feeder Calf Sale, Noon, Dick Brown Sales and Service, Richmond. Colt Knight will present a talk on what to look for in feeder cattle.
- November 4, 2019 11th Annual NH Direct Marketing Conference -Noon to 5:30 pm Portsmouth Country Club, Greenland, NH. The conference’s focus on agritourism will provide attendees with the skills and knowledge needed to start or grow an agritourism business in the Granite State. Her talk will specifically address the aspect of working with local government to support farms.
- November 18, 2019 Farmland Access & Transfer Conference, 8:30 am to 3:30 pm, Civic Center, Augusta. Sponsored by Maine Farmland Trust & Land For Good. $15
- November 21, 2019 Legacy Planning for Farmers, 8:30 am 9 9 am free continental breakfast program 9 am to 11 am, Governor Hill Manson, 135 State Street, Augusta, sponsored by SCORE and MassMutual. Register here.
- November 23, 24, 2019 Maine Harvest Festival, Cross Insurance Center, Bangor.
- December 6, 2019 Pre-conference Cattle Handling Facilities, and BBQ in the Garland Area . afternoon and evening.
- December 7, 2019 Cattlemen's College, Penobscot County Extension Office, 307 Maine Ave. (by the airport) Bangor ME. 8 am to 3 pm. How to build a cheap scale for small scale beef farms. More information later.
- 14-16, 2020: State of Maine Agricultural Trades Show, Augusta, ME.
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Maine Beef Producers Association
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Join the Maine Beef Producers Association.
The Maine Beef Producers Association is accepting dues for the 2018 year. Annual dues are $35. For an extra $25 you can get a year subscription to County Folks. For more information on this organization and for membership application go to
http://www.mainebeefproducersassociation.com/forms.html
The Maine Beef Producers Association has a Facebook page. Like and follow to get the fastest information from Maine Beef Producers Association.
Facebook
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Newsletter Subscription Information
The Maine Beef Newsletter (MBN) is now received by over 690 readers, has been offered as an educational resource by University of Maine Cooperative Extension since 2011. As of January 1, 2015, the MBN transitioned to electronic-only delivery. There will still be four ways to receive the MBN from UMaine Extension:
1) Maine Beef 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. If you are interested in subscribing send a $15 check made out to UMaine Extension to Piscataquis County Cooperative Extension, 165 East Main St., Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426.
3) A third option is to come into the Piscataquis or Penobscot County Extension Office and pick up a free printed copy of the newsletter.
4) Maine Beef Producers Association members who do not have an email on file will receive a printed copy of the newsletter as a benefit of their membership.
We appreciate our readers referring others to the newsletter, and sharing it with your family and friends.
Thank you for your continued support of the MBN, providing valuable agricultural information from Extension for beef producers and those interested in the beef industry in Maine since 2011.
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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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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/.
Need Pesticide Credits
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Contributors
Donna Coffin, Extension Educator
Colt Knight, Extension Specialist
Goal
The goal of the Maine Beef Newsletter is to provide timely information on the production and marketing of beef grown in central Maine.
The 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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Piscataquis County Office
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Maine Beef Producers Association
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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
Piscataquis County Office -
website
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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