Applications are now open for the 2023 Russell Libby Agricultural Scholar Awards. Each year MOFGA awards three $1,500 scholarships, one in each of the following categories: Awards are granted to honor the late Russell Libby, who led the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association for 17 years and dedicated his life to growing the organic
MOFGA held its annual membership meeting online on Thursday, January 19, 2023, at 7 p.m. The meeting included reports on MOFGA’s accomplishments and financial performance in 2022, sharing the 2023 Common Ground Country Fair poster design, and highlighting success stories from each department. Successes shared included MOFGA’s response to the PFAS crisis: raising over $1.3
MOFGA unveiled the 2023 Common Ground Country Fair artwork earlier today at the Agricultural Trades Show in Augusta. The artwork for the fair’s promotional materials is selected from contest submissions each year and the winning design is highly anticipated. This year’s artwork by Rebekah Lowell is titled “Monarchs and Milkweed.” With the monarch butterfly population declining due to habitat loss, the message of “Monarchs and
MOFGA works on public policy at local, state and national levels, and we’re fortunate to have the help of a diverse community of stakeholders with vast expertise in all of our policy platform areas. For the past few months, we’ve been working with partners across the country to elevate the importance of the organic farming
Please join us for MOFGA’s annual meeting on Thursday, January 19, 2023, at 7 p.m. held online via Zoom. At the annual meeting, you’ll hear reports from board members and MOFGA’s executive director on our impact during 2022 and plans for 2023. Members in good standing are encouraged to vote on our 2023 roster of
We’ve taken a look back at the books reviewed for The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener in 2022 and highlighted several of our favorites. For the full reviews, as well as other books we’ve enjoyed, visit our blog. “Sandor Katz’s Fermentation Journeys: Recipes, Techniques, and Traditions from around the World” by Sandor Ellix Katz, Chelsea Green
MOFGA was founded in 1971 around the belief that organic agriculture holds solutions to many of the threats facing human health, the environment and our communities. Climate change is causing an increase in extreme weather events from droughts to floods, making growing conditions difficult for farmers and gardeners. Toxic chemicals are threatening farmers’ livelihoods and
MOFGA has been certifying organic farms for 50 years! It’s time to look back at the history of certification through MOFGA and MOFGA Certification Services (MCS). In 1972, MOFGA started the first organic certification program in the country. Most of those early growers had started by producing food for themselves as part of the back-to-the-land
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA) as an awardee of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP). The grant award, $906,390 ($725,112 of federal dollars and $181,278 in matching funds), will be distributed over three years and support production and financial training through
MOFGA is collaborating with Mano en Mano and the Maine Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network to collect winter clothing for migrant wreath workers. Every fall over 2,000 wreath workers arrive in Downeast Maine, some with little warm clothing for the cold work ahead. Please bring new or lightly used adult winter clothing to one of the drop off
