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Practical farming information based on university research
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Greetings!
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One day this past week I had 0.1 inch of rain in Dover-Foxcroft and there was none recorded 10 miles away. Very sporadic rainfall makes farming a challenge. You can track rainfall on all your fields with the Farmlogs.com application. Here is information on the latest pests to watch for, grant opportunity, on-farm safety info and marketing options.
Donna
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- Pest Notices - It is that time of year that we get pest notices from our specialists throughout the state. The important thing is to go out and scout your fields to look for these pests. In Central Maine sometimes we get a preview or warning of pests headed up our way from the southern part of the state. Click here for more
- Maine Farms for the Future Program - If you are thinking about applying for this grant program the time to act is now! It is a two phase farm business development program to help farms move to a more profitable phase of their business. Click here for more
- Keeping Passengers Safe on Hay Rides - Rutger's developed a great factsheet for farms offering farm visitors transportation around their farm. Safety planning and training helps make your farm visitors experience safe. Click here for more.
- Maine Food Atlas - Those of you who were at a farm program at the Sangerville Grange may remember a presentation about an online map of locally available foods. It seems one step closer to reality with a Beta version that was tested in the Oxford County area. It is available for you to list your farm. Click here for more.
- Homegrown by Heroes - A special label brand has been developed for our veterans to use to market their products. The State of Maine just joined four other states in working with the Farmer Veteran Coalition to offer this label. Click here for more.
- Food Hubs - When small scale farmers consider scaling up sometimes it is hard to get into a wholesale market opportunity. Food Hubs combine the growing power of a number of farmers to allow them to get into larger markets. Here is a summary of things that have been learned while running a food hub. Click here for more
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Items of Interest
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Featured Resources
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Events & Announcements
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Newsletter Subscription Information
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Quick Links
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Pest Notices:
- Late Blight - Dave Handley, UMaine Extension, alerted nightshade growers that Late Blight has been found in neighboring states. Again scout your crops for this disease. Here is our factsheet on Late Blight in Potatoes and Tomatoes http://umaine.edu/publications/2427e/
Dr. Steve Johnson is again offering grower interested in having the text of the late blight information from the potato hotline delivered to your phone for a year for $10, click here for more information. The Hotline (760-9476) is still operating and sponsored by local potato-related groups. He tries to update the hotline every Tuesday and Friday from Mid-June thorough Mid-September with late blight information. The text message is updated more frequently.
- Spotted Wing Drosophila - Dave Handley also reported that the Spotted Wing Drosophila has been found in southern Maine. Small fruit growers should be putting up traps to learn when they are in their area. Here is the latest news on Spotted Wing Drosophila
- Potato Leaf Hopper - Eric Sideman, MOFGA reports that Potato leaf hoppers have been found from southern Maine to Bar Harbor. Important to control this pest before it does serious damage to your crops.The winter in the southern US and come up to us on storm fronts.
- Free Tick ID - Jim Dill announced that this year tick identification will be free. You can either send a sample (in a vial with alcohol) to the Orono Pest Management office or bring a sample to the county Extension Office. UMaine Tick ID Info
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 Maine Farms for the Future Program, Round 15: Phase 1 - Business Plan Development (2015-2017) with potential Phase 2 - Investment Support in 2017 The State of Maine, Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, is required to offer grants for business plan development (Phase 1) and investment support (Phase 2) as authorized in the Maine Farms for the Future Program (Title7, MRS Chapter 10-B). In accordance with State procurement practices, the Department is hereby announcing the publication of a Request for Proposals (RFP) # 201507116 for the purchase of the aforementioned business plan development services. A copy of the RFP can be obtained by contacting the Department's RFP Coordinator for this project: Kimbalie Lawrence. The RFP Coordinator can be reached at the following email address: Kimbalie.Lawrence@Maine.gov or mailing address: 28 State House Station, Augusta, Maine, 04333-0028 Attn: Kimbalie Lawrence. The Department encourages all interested vendors to obtain a copy of the RFP and submit a competitive proposal. A Bidders' Conference will be held at the Department Offices on Thursday, August 13, 2015, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM in Room 319 in the Deering Building located at 90 Blossom Lane in Augusta, Maine. Proposals must be submitted to the State of Maine Division of Purchases, located at the Burton M. Cross Office Building, 111 Sewall Street, 4th Floor, 9 State House Station, Augusta, Maine, 04333-0009. Proposals must be submitted by 2:00 pm, local time, on Thursday, September 10, 2015, when they will be opened at the Division of Purchases' aforementioned address. Proposals not received at the Division of Purchases' aforementioned address by the aforementioned deadline will not be considered for contract award. |
 Keeping Passengers Safe on Hay Rides
Many farms in Maine are trying to attract visitors to enjoy the "farm experience" through agritourism such as corn mazes, hay rides, pumpkin patches and pick your own. Commonly these attractions transport guests on a hay ride using a tractor and hay wagon. With the potential liability of transporting guest, hay ride safety is an increasing important issue.
Rutgers staff developed a factsheet to help guide farmers through a number of steps to increase the level of safety of their hayrides. Some of the important points highlighted include:
Before the Hay Ride- Inspect the route of the ride and remove any potential hazards.
- Tractor should be equipped with Rollover Protective Structure and have the power, weight, traction and braking ability to control the load. Tractor and wagon should be properly maintained and visually inspected each time they are hitched together. Use Slow Moving Vehicle emblems and appropriate lighting for both tractor and wagon.
- Tractor drivers should be trained on the tractor that will be used for the rides. They should be able to start and stop smoothly. Drivers should run the tractor at a slow speed, generally a walking pace. Two-way radios can be used to provide communication during the ride.
- Managing customer-flow or crowd control starts at the parking lot with signage and fencing to direct them to the loading area.
- Separating the loading and unloading area will help reduce confusion and allow staff and visitors the opportunity to focus on getting people either safely on or safely off the wagon. If straw is used for seating it should be fresh and dry. Straw that is wet is susceptible to mold and potentially slippery. Post rules of the ride in the waiting area. Some rules to consider include: No Smoking, No Standing while the hayride is moving, No lighters, No food or drink on the ride, No alcohol, Keep arms and legs in the ride at all times, No horseplay on the ride.
During the Ride - Safe operation of the tractor during the ride is of utmost priority.Never allow anyone between the tractor and wagon and never allow anyone to ride on the wagon tongue. Never allow the tractor operator to take a spontaneous detour.
- Passengers should be supervised to ensure rules are followed.
Source: Agitourism - Keeping Passengers Safe on Hay Rides, FS1145, Rutgers, 2011 www.njaes.rutgers.edu
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Maine Food Atlas - 
The Maine Food Atlas has been created by the Network of Community Food Councils , working closely with the Center for Community GIS.
Through local food asset mapping, Community Food Councils are actively exploring and documenting their regional food systems. This work provides essential baseline information necessary for rebuilding community food systems, assuring greater food security for all, and improving the social, economic, environmental, and health impacts of our food.
The Maine Food Atlas encourages diverse food operators-growers, processors, farm to school groups, food security organizations-to use the website and put themselves "on the map." Users can establish free Maine Food Atlas accounts, which allow them to richly describe their work, load photos, and independently manage their postings over time.
As the Maine Food Atlas grows, Community Food Councils will provide mid-level support and serve as regional moderators for listings in their respective service areas. Through "curated crowdsourcing," assigned local food council members will be alerted whenever a new listing is added. They will also be available to reach out to help folks create robust, beautiful listings.
This was started as an initiative in the Oxford County area and is currently in the Beta testing stage. Your input is welcome.
Click here to check out the new Maine Food Atlas Site.
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Homegrown By Heroes 
Farmer Veteran Coalition has announced that the State of Maine has officially partnered with the Homegrown By Heroes (HBH) program
to promote agricultural products grown and/or produced by Maine farmer veterans.
The label has gained national recognition, and provides an easily recognizable means for consumers to identify products that have been grown and produced by US military veterans. Consumers can show their support by shopping for products bearing the HBH label.
Maine is the fifth state to officially partner with the Homegrown By Heroes program joining Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, and Arkansas. Several more states are slated to enter into formal agreements, also joining the initiative.
Established by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture in 2013, the Homegrown By Heroes program is managed on a national scale through Farmer Veteran Coalition, and is open to any veteran or active duty service member who meets program requirements. To learn more about the program, visit http://www.farmvetco.org/homegrown-by-heroes/
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Food Hubs - Lessons Learned
In 2013 USDA did a survey of eleven food hubs to learn from them how they are organized and lessons they have learned along the way. They were from throughout the country and varied in sales from $60,000 to $3,750,000 in estimated annual sales. And varied in size from small focused on selling to restaurants, small groceries and direct to consumer; medium size that also focused on institutions and larger regional grocery chains; and large that focus on national chain grocery stores with limited individual customers.
Here is what they learned: - Determine who your customers are (retail, wholesale, organic, grass-fed, etc.) then tailor the food hub's products and approach to suit the identified market.
- Seek to source and provide a mix of product that will allow you to satisfy demand or an identified need in the market. This may include distribution of products that are not strictly "local," but which still suit the mission of the food hub.
- Allow the needs of the food hub customers to dictate the certification requirements of the hub. Whether required by customers or not, food hubs should take a long-term view by maintaining awareness of the food safety and regulatory environment in order to be prepared for future demand.
- Infrastructure will be based on the product handling and storage needs of the food hub, but food hubs should incorporate a long-view of infrastructure and equipment to provide easier transitions through growth periods in the future.
- Use any available funding to get started but have a long-term strategic plan to achieve operational profitability, as this is necessary to ensure long-term viability of the business.
- Volunteer labor can be useful, particularly during start-up or periods of growth. But long-term success will require regular employees and the continuity of institutional knowledge and the relationships they bring.
- Seek to find operational advantages through partnerships or by working with existing infrastructure in a region. Make sure the food hub has sufficient funding to sustain operations until revenues are at a sufficient level.
- Whether leased or purchased, trucking and logistics will often be one of the largest costs of operating the food hub. Know your costs to avoid delivery expenses exceeding order values.
- There is no "one size fits all" software solution. Conscientiously choosing software to siut as many needs of the food hub as possible will lead to the greatest efficiency in operations, but will likely still not produce ideal results.
Source: Running a Food Hub, Lessons learned from the field, 2015, USDA Service Report 77. http://www.rd.usda.gov/files/SR_77_Running_A_Food_Hub_Vol_1.pdf |
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- UMaine Witter Center in Orono has posted a job announcement for a Farm Superintendent . This is a full time, year round, base funded position. Please forward to any interested individuals.
- KVCC in Fairfield has posted a part-time Farm Supervisor position. This is a 20 hour per week position. Please forward to any interested individuals.
- New USDA poultry slaughter facility in Gardiner, Commonwealth Poultry. Mark Hutchinson, UMaine Extension reports that they have been up and running for the past 4 months. They are now ready to begin processing additional flocks under USDA inspection. If you have producers interested in this service please have them contact Ryan Wilson or 207-582-4900. They are currently accepting birds by appointment.
- Ultraviolet Light May Provide New Way to Assure Food Safety Scientists at Washington State University have shown that ultraviolet C (UVC) light is effective against foodborne pathogens on the surface of certain fruits. Washington State University News
- Cabbige is an online business management tool designed specifically for growers. It includes a pricing tool, inventory management, and harvest & sales reports to help growers improve their farm business's profitability. Designed with simplicity in mind, Cabbige only takes a couple minutes each day to use, and last year, Cabbige users saw an average 9.6% more revenue for crops that they used Cabbige to manage.
- Avian influenza confirmed in wild bird -While there have not been any new confirmed cases of avian influenza in commercial poultry flocks the United States in nearly a month, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on July 10 confirmed a case in a chickadee in Ramsey County. This is the second confirmation of the virus in a wild bird in Minnesota.WATTAGNET.COM
- Update Hay and Straw Directory If you have excess or are in the position to sell hay or straw, consider using the Maine Hay and Straw Directory. It is free to use. More information is available online, or call Cooperative Extension 1.800.287.1426.
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Featured Resources
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Publications: The following agriculture related UMaine Extension publications are available online or can be ordered from the UMaine Extension office nearest you. You will notice that some publications are free and some have a cost recovery charge. Many publications are available for free online or may be purchased at our
secure publications website.
- New England Vegetable Management Guide - 2014-2015 edition. This guide is intended to assist commercial vegetable producers by providing information on production techniques and pest management. This book is not recommended for home gardeners because it contains recommendations for restricted pesticide use. Includes a copy of the 2014 edition of the Northeast Vegetable and Strawberry Pest Identification Guide. 290 pages. 2014. $25.00
- Potato Late Blight #2441 Potato late blight can cause severe crop losses. Learn about the transmission, symptoms and control of potato late blight. Color photos. 4 pages. © 2010 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free buy a color copy.
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Newsletter Subscription Information
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The Piscataquis and Penobscot Counties Farming Newsletter (PPCFN), now received by over 620 readers, has been offered as an educational resource by University of Maine Cooperative Extension for over 10 years. As of January 1, 2015, the PPCFN will be transitioning to electronic-only delivery. There will still be three ways to receive the PPCFN from your local UMaine Extension:
1) Piscataquis & Penobscot Counties 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.
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.
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 PPCFN, providing valuable agricultural information from Extension for folks in the central Maine area since 2003.
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Events & Announcements
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- July 30 - 31 & August 1, 2015 Kneading Conference / Artisan Bread Fair sponsored by the Maine Grain Alliance in Skowhegan.
- August 7-8, Bartlett Yarns Open House at its historic mill in Harmony, Maine.
- August 14 - 16, 2015 Northeast Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) Summer Conference, Amherst, MA
- September 1 - 2, 2015 CROPP Regional Agronomy School, sponsored by CROPP Cooperative. For farmers to learn how to balance farm profitability, forage quality and soil fertility in a hands-on two-day workshop. Click here for more information.
- September 25 - 27, 2015 Common Ground Fair, MOFGA Fairgrounds, Unity.
- October 16, 2015, 4th Annual Maine Farm to School Conference at Kennebec Valley Community College. More details later.
- November 14 & 15, 2015 Maine Harvest Festival, Bangor.
- December 15 - 17, 2015 New England Vegetable and Fruit Conference, Manchester, NH. This is the premiere fruit and vegetable show for the northeastern part of the US. The educational program is very large and covers a great number of crops.
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Mission
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.
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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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Contributors
Donna Coffin, Extension Educator
donna.coffin@maine.eduGoal
The goal of the Piscataquis & Penobscot Farming Newsletter is to provide timely information on the production and marketing of crops and livestock grown in central Maine.
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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.
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Photos unless otherwise indicated by Donna Coffin.
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