"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
- Mahatma Gandhi
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PO Box 170
Unity, ME 04988
Phone: 207-568-4142
Fax: 207-568-4141
Email: mofga@mofga.org
Physical Address:
294 Crosby Brook Road, Unity, ME
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Seed Swap & Scion Exchange
Sunday, March 29, 2015
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
MOFGA's Common Ground Education Center, Unity
FREE, no registration required
For gardeners and orchardists, it's the most wonderful flea market in the world. Not only that – most of the best stuff is free! MOFGA, the Maine Tree Crop Alliance, and Fedco will once again host the Seed Swap and Scionwood Exchange at MOFGA’s Common Ground Exhibition Hall in Unity. Please bring any seeds, scionwood or cuttings you have to share freely with others. In recent years we have given away scionwood from well over 200 fruit varieties. These contributions make the day a success. We'll supply labels, tape and markers, and we’ll be selling T-shirts, books, grafting supplies and rootstock. Admission is free. More details.
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Organic and Sustainable Agriculture News
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Small is beautiful (and radical)
Grist - 2/3/2010.By Eliot Coleman – When a friend told me of two of the proposed discussion topics for a major agricultural conference – “What is so radical about radical agriculture?” and “Is small the only beautiful?” – I told him that that I thought both questions had the same answer. The radical idea behind by organic agriculture is a change in focus. The new focus is on the quality of the crops grown and their suitability for human nutrition. That is a change from the more common focus on growing as much quantity as possible and using whatever chemical techniques contribute to increasing that quantity. |
Maine shrimp are swimming
Zester Daily - 2/3/2010.By Nancy Harmon Jenkins – It’s shrimp season in Maine. In these coldest days of winter, when small, sweet, tender Maine shrimp – aka Icelandic shrimp and Pandalus borealis – head south from the Arctic into the relatively warmer waters off the Maine coast to reproduce. Actually, reproduce is not quite the operative term, at least not in the conventional sense. |
Proposal in federal budget aims to boost organic food labels
Burlington Free Press - 2/2/2010.By Nicole Gaudiano – Washington: President Barack Obama's record $3.8 trillion budget proposal includes a $3.1 million boost in a program important to Vermont's organic farming industry. Obama's budget, which must be approved by Congress, would increase spending for the National Organic Program by 44 percent, to $10.1 million. The program certifies that organically produced foods meet national standards. The increase includes $2.1 million for regulatory review and enforcement and to forge agreements with other countries to help expand exports. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said some agriculture groups want to "get in on the cheap" and charge more for products with misleading labels. |
Slow Food Lake Tahoe – It's all about sustainable and organic
Sierra Sun - 2/2/2010.By Amy Edgett – The Slow Food Lake Tahoe potluck included a presentation by Sierra Valley Farms owner Gary Romano, who espoused both the rewards and challenges of the small farmer. Romano helped save his family's 102-year-old farm, returning to the land he once worked as a child. “As long as you have a piece of land, you never feel stranded,” said Romano. “You can always grow food – it's very spiritual. That's part of what keeps me going.” |
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Check out MOFGA's
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Yeomans Plow for sale by Plowshares Community Farm: "The Yeomans Plow is the king of reduced tillage. We have switched from tillage systems to permanent orchards, so we do not ne..." |
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Peach trees available this spring by Plowshares Community Farm: "Contender Peach (yellow freestone), more cold hardy than most. Just $24 each, 3/8" caliper, the best size for establishing l..." |
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March 6 - MOFGA’s Common Ground radio show |
10 to 11 a.m. on WERU, 89.9 and 99.9 FM and weru.org |
March 7 - MOFGA’s Spring Growth Conference: Farming in the Face of Climate Change |
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center, Unity. Keynote speaker John Aber and a panel of farmers focus on weather- and climate-related changes farmers are experiencing. Includes open discussion on strategies for farmers to deal with changing climate. Information and registration. |
March 8 - Film presented by MOFGA’s Green Cemetery Committee |
MOFGA's Green Cemetery Committee invites the public to a free film series on End of Life issues. 1:30 p.m. at MOFGA's Education Center in Unity. Several short films will be shown to inform about choices and inspire planning and preparing ahead. Save the date for the last film in our series to be shown on April 12. FMI contact Nancy at 568-7597. |
March 12 - Growing Tomatoes in a High Tunnel |
Thursday, 10 a.m. to noon, Houlton Higher Education Center, Rm 110, 18 Military St, Houlton. Presented by Eric Sideman, Crop Specialist, MOFGA. Hosted by the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District. The class is the second in a three-part high tunnel series funded by the Broad Reach Fund of the Maine Community Foundation. 1 pesticide credit is available through the class. A complementary lunch will be served. Pre-registration is requested. Contact the SASWCD at 532-2087 x 101 or angela.wotton@me.nacdnet.net |
March 14 - MOFGA’s Organic Orcharding Workshop: Pruning
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10 a.m.to 3 p.m. Two locations: 1. New Leaf Farm, Durham (instructor: Angus Deighan); 2. between Ellsworth and Cherryfield (instructor: Brannin Buehner of Bear & Owl Tree Care). Learn to prune fruit trees to encourage vigorous growth, heavy fruit set and quality fruit yield. For beginning and experienced growers. $50 non-members; $35 members. More information. The workshop is also offered at Apple Acres Farm in Hiram. $25 per person. FMI visit the Resilience Hub. |
March 14 - Growing Issues: Urban Agriculture |
11 a.m., Bernard Osher Foundation Auditorium, Portland Museum of Art. Join this panel of experts on local sustainability in their discussion of the importance of public food forests, public orcharding, edible street trees, permablitzing and community gardens. A Community Collaboration between Portland Museum of Art and MOFGA. Free for PMA and MOFGA members ($10 for the general public). Schedule and details. |
March 18 - Hancock County Grower Meeting |
Wednesday, Hancock County Extension Office, 63 Boggy Brook Rd., Ellsworth. Sessions on certification, soil health and crop planning presented by local farmers. Opportunity to take the Pesticide Applicator License exam; RSVP at least 8 days prior. Details. |
March 18 and 25 - Organic Farming: Principles and Practices |
Two-part course designed to provide farmers with a strong background in soils, weeds and pest management, enabling them to make good management decisions. Lectures by Eric Sideman, MOFGA's organic crop specialist, and local farmers. Information and registration. |
March 21 - 21st Annual Rural Living Day |
Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Mt. View High School, 577 Mt. View Rd. (Rt. 220), Thorndike. Classes on gardening, forestry and rural life. Co-sponsored by MOFGA and UMaine Cooperative Extension. FMI: UMaine Extension, 1-800-287-1426. Deadline to register is Friday, March 13. |
March 21 - MOFGA’s Organic Orcharding Workshop: Renovating Old Trees |
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Locations: Palermo with Angus Deighan; Beech Hill Farm, Mount Desert with C.J. Walke; or Kermit Nickerson School, Swanville with Sean Murphy. Do you have old trees on your land that you would like to bring back into production? Learn how to renovate and tend your heritage trees. $50 non-members; $35 members. Information and registration. |
22 – Maine Maple Sunday |
Some sugarhouses are offering events on both Saturday and Sunday. List of participating sugarhouses. This list includes three MOFGA certified organic maple syrup producers: Kinney's Sugarhouse in Knox, Sparky's Moody Mountain Maple in Hope and Strawberry Hill Farms in Skowhegan. MOFGA certifies more than four dozen organic maple syrup producers. |
March 26 - Growing Issues: The Hidden World of Bees and Pollination |
6:30 p.m., Bernard Osher Foundation Auditorium, Portland Museum of Art. Hear Christy Hemenway from Gold Star Honeybees, Heather Spalding, MOFGA deputy director, and Fedco Seeds founder CR Lawn talk about our pollinators and the national and local issues that concern them and our food supply. Maine honey and mead tasting to follow. A Community Collaboration between Portland Museum of Art and MOFGA. Free for PMA and MOFGA members ($10 for the general public). Schedule and details. |
March 27 - Lincoln/Knox County Grower Meeting |
Friday, Knox-Lincoln County Extension Office, 377 Manktown Rd., Waldoboro. Sessions on certification, soil health and crop planning presented by local farmers. Opportunity to take the Pesticide Applicator License exam; RSVP at least 8 days prior. Details. |
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See the full calendar ... |
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