Farmer Perspectives on Flooding, Adaptation, and Building Farm Resilience
with Amanda Andrews of Tamarack Hollow Farm, Bruce Hennessey of Maple Wind Farm, and Ryan Fitzbeauchamp of Evening Song Farm.
Thursday, March 13, 5 – 6 p.m.

Farmers throughout New England have been severely impacted by extreme precipitation and flooding. As a result, farms are innovating, exploring creative and meaningful ways to adapt their businesses and production systems to climate change. Join us for a discussion with Tamarack Hollow Farm, Maple Wind Farm, and Evening Song Farm to learn how both vegetable and livestock producers throughout New England are impacted by flooding and at the same time adapting their farms to build resilience. Their presentations will be followed by a facilitated farmer-to-farmer discussion. Come to listen, share your experiences, ask questions, troubleshoot, and be inspired to make your own farm more resilient.  Read more.

New England Climate Trends, Soil Hydrology, and Managing the Effects of Soil Saturation
with Dr. Sean Birkel of UMaine and Dr. Joshua Faulkner of UVM
Thursday, March 27, 5 – 6:30 p.m.

Sean Birkel will review Maine’s historical temperature and precipitation trends and future climate projections, and discuss impacts to the growing season. Sean will give an overview of online tools relevant to agriculture, including growing degree day and precipitation summaries, frost date estimates, and other resources. Josh Faulkner will discuss general soil and hydrology concepts that relate to drainage and water management in agriculture in the context of extreme rainfall.  He will also address how saturation and soil moisture status can affect nutrient cycling and soil health factors and how those relate to farm management practices. Read more. 

Climate Adaptation Planning for Flood and High Precipitation Condition
with Sean Hagan or Maine Farmland Trust and Sara Keleman of American Farmland Trust
Thursday, April 10, 5 – 6:30 p.m.

Climate Adaptation Planning is a useful tool to assess risks and identify strategies to increase resilience and mitigate the impacts of climate change. This session will discuss the process of climate adaptation planning with a focus on the impacts of flooding and high precipitation conditions, and we’ll hear from a farmer who will share their experience working through this process and how it has informed their thinking.  Read more.