Technical Assistance
MOFGA’s farmer programs team is here to help. Farmer technical assistance is available and free to any grower in Maine, regardless of organic certification, committed to growing commercially or for wider community impact beyond a homestead. Technical assistance can come in many forms, including in-person or Zoom farm visits, phone calls, emails, fact sheets, and even texting photos to some members of our team (e.g., images of pests and diseases).
We can help answer questions and provide resources for many kinds of concerns: business planning and management, marketing, financial and legal resources, crop and livestock management, pest and disease identification and management, soil health and more. Read below to learn more about our team and our areas of expertise.
Beginning Farmer Programs
Are you interested in working on a farm in Maine or starting your own? Let us support you in your next step.
Areas of expertise: connecting beginning farmers to resources including financial support, mentors, events and programs, and peer learning spaces.
Business and Marketing
We can assist in strengthening one’s understanding of specific markets and effective business strategies like branding, logos, pricing, packaging, labeling, and more.
Areas of expertise: farm financials, enterprise budgets, cash-flow projections, marketing, market feasibility, farm planning, profitability, economic impact, financing, loans, grants, and pricing.
Livestock and Pasture Management
Are you raising livestock of any kind and looking for advice on animal health and husbandry, pasture management, livestock handling or food safety? Let us help you find the practices that work for you and your animals.
Areas of expertise: livestock, pastures, grain, and shared-use farm equipment.
Crop and Soil Management
Are you struggling with crop planning, or diagnosing or treating pests or diseases? Are you curious about soil health or conservation practices? Let us help you build the cropping system that works for you and your goals.
Areas of expertise: organic growing, soil health, PFAS chemical contamination, National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) and National Organic Program (NOP), and MOFGA’s Pest Report newsletter.
Climate-Smart and Organic Agriculture
Are you concerned about how climate change is impacting/will impact your production practices and business? Are you considering transitioning your farm to organic production? Let us help you access support and technical assistance for climate change adaptations and/or transitioning to organic production.
Areas of expertise: climate change, climate-smart production, organic transition
Livestock Production
- Animal health
- Pasture plans and management
- Humane livestock handling techniques
- Food safety considerations
- Equipment considerations
Crop Production
- Pest and disease identification and management decisions
- Soil health and management decisions including: cover cropping, tillage considerations, interpreting soil test results
- Food safety considerations
- Equipment considerations
Processing
- Sourcing local organic ingredients
- Certifying product lines
- Food safety considerations
Business & Marketing
- Starting a farm or food business
- Farm accounting and using QuickBooks
- Financial planning with cash flow projections and enterprise budgets
- Website/social media assistance, logo and label design, branding, etc
- Planning and assessing marketing options
- Labor management considerations
Organic Certification
- Transitioning to organic production
- Navigating application materials
Fee for Service
MOFGA also offers a sliding scale fee-for-service model with grant funding often covering the fee for the following consulting services
- Pasture plan design
- Record keeping improvements
- Crop rotation plan
- Fertility plan
- Enterprise analysis
- Cash flow analysis
- Quickbooks setup or reorganizing chart of accounts