September 2015
Your Monthly News & Updates
We have had an unusual long, warm fall, but the cool weather seems to be here. We are using a new format that is suppose to be more "mobile device friendly." Let us know how it works for you.
Earlier this month we gave you a chance to give us your input on how we are doing. If you didn't get around to completing it, here is another chance, just click here for the survey.

What's New? 
  1. Agriculture Positions Available in UMaine Extension
  2. Backyard Poultry Programs
  3. Piscataquis County Extension Association Invitation to annual meeting
  4. Reduction in Crop Insurance Premiums!
  5. Looking for an Inexpensive Way to Cool Produce?
  6. Items of Interest
  7. Featured Resources
  8. Upcoming Events
  9. Newsletter Subscription Information
  10. Mission and Quick Links
  11. Local Weather Anytime - Need Pesticide Credits? 
positions
Agriculture Positions Available in UMaine Extension

In the next few months UMaine Extension will be filling positions due to a number of vacancies throughout the state.  

Agriculture and Food Systems Professional
University of Maine Cooperative Extension invites applications for a full-time Agriculture and Food Systems Professional/Professional I to begin work December 1, 2015.  This position is located at the University of Maine Oxford County Extension Office in South Paris, Maine.  This position is responsible for implementing educational programs in support of the over 550 commercial farms in Oxford county.  This work will often be done in partnership with county based colleagues and statewide commodity (potato, dairy, vegetable) or subject specialists (water quality, pest management, food safety) within Cooperative Extension.  The professional will also respond to the needs of home gardeners and have overall responsibility for the county Master Gardener Volunteer program. Typical hiring range for this position is $40,461-$43,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. For a full job description and to apply, click here.  
The University of Maine is an EEO/AA Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Other positions - The following positions have been proposed to be filled.

Statewide Educator for Livestock and Assistant Extension Professor.  This position will address educational priorities and applied research for Maine's livestock producers in areas other than dairy.  Primarily this position will be supporting producers of beef, goat, sheep, alpaca and other species.  This position is expected to work in partnership with Extension colleagues, State Government and grower groups in developing a work plan consistent with faculty level performance.  

Agricultural Professional for Cumberland County: This position will address the educational needs of the commercial agriculture sector in southern Maine with an emphasis on Cumberland County.   This professional position will focus on educational outreach and work in partnership with Extension colleagues and others in addressing the needs of the over 700 farms in Cumberland County.  

More information about these positions will be forthcoming in the near future.  

poultry
Backyard Poultry Programs

Prospective and beginning small-scale meat and egg producers will gain a general understanding of what it takes to have poultry. Poultry breeds, housing, health, and nutrition for small-scale meat and egg producers will be explored with Donna Coffin, UMaine Extension and Dr. Beth McEvoy, Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Sponsored by UMaine Extension and MDACF Animal and Plant Health.
 
The same program will be at three locations. All programs go from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. $10 course fee with $20 optional course book "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens." Limited number of partial course fee waivers available.
 
October 14th - Bucksport High School, Bucksport - Sign up through RSU25 at 207-469-2129 or  http://rsu25.maineadulted.org
October 27th - NOKOMIS High School, Newport - Sign up through RSU 19 at 207-368-3290 or  http://rsu19.maineadulted.org/
November 3rd Piscataquis County Extension Office, 165 E. Main St., Dover-Foxcroft - Sign up through PVAEC at 207-564-6525 or http://pvaec.maineadulted.org
 
For more information or to request a disability accommodation, call 207-564-3301 or in Maine 1-800-287-1491.

carrots
Photo: Edwin Remsberg
annualPiscataquis County Extension Association Invitation

Join us at our annual meeting!
 
Celebrating and Supporting Farming in Piscataquis County
 

with John Piotti,
President and CEO of Maine Farmland Trust
 
Farm to Table Meal by
Spruce Mill Farm, Dover-Foxcroft
 
Friday, October 30th
6 pm dinner
7 pm program
Congregational Church in Dover-Foxcroft
 
Tickets are available for dinner at the Piscataquis Extension office .165 East Main St., Dover-Foxcroft, phone 207.564.3301 or 1.800.287.1491 (in Maine) email [email protected]. RSVP with payment of $10 by October 23rd guarantees a meal. Proceeds to benefit the school gardening project.

reductionReduction in Crop Insurance
Premiums!

Additional 2015 Crop Insurance Premium Discounts for Maine Producers
For the sixth consecutive year, the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced that Maine producers with buy-up crop insurance policies for the 2015 crop year will be eligible for an additional automatic premium reductions of up to $150 per crop policy through the Financial Assistance Program (FAP). If the producer paid premium per crop policy is less than $150, the amount of the assistance premium will be capped at 100 percent of the producer paid premium for the crop policy. Insurance policies not eligible for this benefit include catastrophic risk protection and Livestock Gross Margin insurance policies.
No additional application is necessary in order to qualify for the FAP and the premium reduction will automatically be applied to all eligible crop policies.
Additional information is available through your crop insurance agent, or by visiting the RMA web site at http://www.rma.usda.govFor more information on how crop insurance can help protect your business, visit the Cooperative Extension Risk Management and Crop Insurance Education website at http://umaine.edu/agriculture/maine-risk-management-and-crop-insurance-education-program/.

coolLooking for Inexpensive Way to Cool Vegetables?

Once vegetables and fruits are harvested they will begin to deteriorate in quality. To maintain quality it is important to remove the field heat from produce and store at a cool temperatures.
Large farms that ship produce across the country use large walk-in coolers to keep their produce in top condition.
Smaller farms think that the cost of a walk-in cooler is too prohibitive. But think again. For a number of years CoolBots(TM) have enabled farmers to use window air conditioners to make a cooler out of an insulated space. University of Vermont has pulled together a number of resources on one site to help farmers decide if this system makes sense for their operation. Information on designing and building the insulated space and energy savings vs traditional cooler is included. Go to CoolBots(TM) Inexpensive Cold Storage.

interestItems of Interest

  • Capricorn Products in Portland Maine are looking to expand their goat herd. They would like does or wethers  between 1 year and 3 years of age. Preferably over 100 pounds, no horns and healthy. If you have any goats available please contact John Manchester, Purchasing Manager at 207-321-0014 or [email protected]  
  • Cultivating Community, based in Portland, ME, has two exciting openings with our New American Sustainable Agriculture Project (NASAP).
    The Farm Manager and Educator is responsible for overall farm management and stewardship of Cultivating Community's principal incubator training farm in Lisbon, Maine, as well as smaller sites in the Greater Portland area.
    The Food Hub Manager and Educator is responsible for the overall development of our Food Hub sales and distribution, while also providing core services to our training program to complement and support our marketing initiatives. 
    Anticipated start dates for both positions are December/January.
    For full job descriptions, including the hiring timelines associated with each posting, please go to https://www.cultivatingcommunity.org/seek-employment/.
  • Gleaning Fields After Harvest - Many times after you have finished harvesting your vegetable crops there are a lot of edible but unmarketable vegetables left in the field. Please contact Nancy Perry, Food Sourcing Director at Good Shepherd Food Bank, at (207) 782-3554 ext. 1109 or [email protected] for more information about donating fresh produce. 
resourcesFeatured Resources

Videos:
How to Test Forage Quality, YouTube Video from UMaine Extension that discusses the nutritional importance of forage quality and recommended sampling techniques.
How to Harvest and Store Pumpkins,
YouTube Video from UMaine Extension discusses how to harvest and store pumpkins.

Webinars:
Raising Guinea Fowl Webinar,
October 6th at 3 pm Guinea fowl are becoming popular for controlling ticks and other insects. If you are interested, or thinking about, raising guinea fowl, this is the webinar for you. Dr. Samuel Nahashon from the University of Tennessee  will be discussing what is involved in raising guinea fowl. Click here for more information about this free webinar from eXtension.org .

Publications: 
Visit the UMaine Extension Cooperative Extension online Publications Catalog for agriculture information, such as:
Selling Beef in Maine #1048 There are many paths or market channels that can be used to get beef from the producer to the consumer. This publication includes a chart of the risks, benefits, and requirements of beef marketing channels. 2  pages. � 2015 by University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free or buy a color copy $0.50.
Storage Conditions: Fruits and Vegetables #4135 This publication explains post-harvest management of commercial horticultural crops to minimize loss and maximize storage life and quality. Discusses relative humidity and temperatures; includes chart with storage conditions and storage time periods for 85 fruits and vegetables. 8 pages. � 2001 by Unviersity of Maine Cooperative Extension. Download it for free: or buy a color copy. $1.50

eventsUpcoming Events

  • September 25 - 27, 2015 Common Ground Fair, MOFGA Fairgrounds, Unity.  
  • October 3, 2015 Central Maine Sheep Breeders Wool Pool at the Piscataquis fairgrounds from 10:00 am to noon. If you can't make it at that time you can drop your wool off in our building at the fairgrounds earlier.  If you do,every bag should be labeled with your name, address and phone number. Please note the following: wool must be this years clip, colored and white must be separated,wool should be dry and free of dung tags, burdock and the like, if you were given a wool bag last year please use it or at the very least bring it back. Please plan on helping us pack and load your wool.  In fact if any of you want to hang around we could probably use the help! As we are no longer collecting annual dues, any costs of the wool pool (postage, transport, additional bags if needed) will be taken out of the wool checks on a per pound basis. FMI Karen (Kim) Morris, 207-356-1891, [email protected]
  • October 2nd to 4th, 2015 2015 Cornell Sheep & Goat Symposium at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
  • October 4 - 11, 2015 Fryeburg Fair 
  • October 7th, 2015 On-Farm Composting to Manage Animal Diseases and Mortalities, 3:45 pm to 7 pm, Highmoor Farm, 52 US-202, Monmouth. To pre-register contact Melissa Libby at 207-581-3188 or [email protected] 
  • October 9th, 2015 Bull, Heifer and Club Calf Show & Sale at Fryeburg Fair FMI [email protected] 
  • October 11 - The Maine Cheese Guild Open Creamery Day. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visit many of Maine's cheese makers in their creameries, meet the animals, and learn the stories behind Maine's more than 150 artisan cheeses.
  • October 16, 2015, 4th Annual Maine Farm to School Conference at Kennebec Valley Community College. More details later. 
  • October 14th - Backyard Poultry at Bucksport High School, Bucksport - Sign up through RSU25 at 207-469-2129 or http://rsu25.maineadulted.org
  • October 18, 2015  Great Maine Apple Day. MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center, Unity. Celebrate the history, tradition and flavor of Maine apples with MOFGA. A popular segment is "Identifying your Mystery Variety." Bring your samples to be identified.
  • October 19, 2015 Farmland Access Conference, at Pineland in New Gloucester, presented by Maine Farmland Trust with partners Land for Good and American Farmland Trust.  Join us for a day-long conference on the challenges that farmers face in gaining access to farmland, as well as the tools and resources (both existing and imagined) to help improve access.
  • October 27th - Backyard Poultry at NOKOMIS High School, Newport - Sign up through RSU 19 at 207-368-3290 or http://rsu19.maineadulted.org/ 
  • October 30, 2015 Piscataquis County Extension Annual Meeting "Celebrating and Supporting Farming in Piscataquis County." 6 pm dinner and 7 pm program at the Congregational Church in Dover-Foxcroft. John Piotti, President and CEO of Maine Farmland Trust will be the speaker. Farm to Table Meal by Spruce Mill Farm, Dover-Foxcroft. Tickets are available for dinner at the Piscataquis Extension office. RSVP with payment of $10 by October 23rd guarantees a meal. Proceeds to benefit the school gardening project. For more information contact Amanda Miles at 207.564.3301 or [email protected]
  • November 3rd Backyard Poultry at Piscataquis County Extension Office, 165 E. Main St., Dover-Foxcroft - Sign up through PVAEC at 207-564-6525 or http://pvaec.maineadulted.org 
  • November 6-8 - MOFGA's 2015 Farmer to Farmer Conference. Friday through Sunday, Point Lookout Resort, Northport, Maine. MOFGA's annual conference for farmers provides a great opportunity to talk about what works and what doesn't while learning new ideas from university faculty, fellow farmers and others.
  • November 7th, 2015, MBPA Pre-conditioned Feeder Calf Sale 11 am, sponsored by the Maine Beef Producers Association, Dick Brown's Auction Barn, Richmond.
  • November 13 - 14, 2015 Soft, Hard, and Stretchy: The Culture of Southern European Cheeses with Peter Dixon. He will demonstrate making three different cheeses - one stretchy pasta filata type, one aged hard style, one young softer style - and the techniques for making all three types. Sponsored by the State of Maine Cheese Guild at Pineland Farms Creamery in New Gloucester, Maine.
  • November 14 & 15, 2015 Maine Harvest Festival, Bangor.
  • November 14, 2015 Maine State Beekeepers Association Annual Meeting, Hampden Academy, Hampden.
  • November 14-15 - The Business of Farming for Wholesale: A Two-Day Intensive Workshop, Black Bear Inn, Orono. Sponsored by Maine Farmland Trust. For experienced farmers who want to start or expand their wholesale markets. Available tuition-free to farmers who participated in this spring's Harvesting Maine's New Wholesale Opportunities. Other farmers may apply to participate. Details and registration online at Maine Farmland Trust or contact Jed Beach at [email protected]
  • November 18, 2015 Beef Fall Health Meeting - evening - Presque Isle
  • November 19, 2015 Beef Fall Health Meeting - evening - Waterville
  • 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. 
  • January 12 - 14, 2016 Maine Agriculture Trades Show, Augusta
  • April 2, 2016 Livestock 101 at the University of Maine Witter Center, Orono.
  • May 20 - 22, 2016 Northeast Livestock Expo, Windsor
subscriptionNewsletter Subscription Information

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.
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.
quickQuick Links
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.
weatherLocal 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?  Check out the  Maine Board of Pesticide credit calendar.  Many approved pesticide applicator re-certification programs are listed.
Contributors

Donna Coffin, Extension Educator
 [email protected]
and
Rick Kersbergen, Extension Educator
[email protected]


Goal

The goal of the Central Maine Farming Newsletter is to provide timely information on the production and marketing of crops and livestock 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 by Donna Coffin unless otherwise noted.  

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Penobscot Office - website 
Open Monday - Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm
307 Maine Ave. Bangor, ME  04401  207-942-7396 or 800-287-1485

Piscataquis 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 
Waldo Office  - website 
Open Monday - Friday 8 am to 4:30 pm
992 Waterville Road, Waldo, ME 04915-3117 Phone: 207.342.5971 or 800.287.1426 (in Maine)  
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