Archives: Resources

Pasture Management Tips

By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Deciding how to rotate pastures on your farm can be confusing! You have to consider many stable factors, such as soil type and slope of the land, and shifting factors, such as the amount of feed in the field at a given time and the weather. Many resources are available to

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Ground nesting Bees

Large and small ground-nesting bees, Andrena nasonii, from the study region. Photo by Heather Grab By Sue Smith-Heavenrich A recent study shows that common ground-nesting bees grow smaller in heavily farmed landscapes than in natural areas. In a Northeast SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education)-funded study, Heather Connelly and her colleagues at Cornell University collected

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Storing Saved Seeds

‘Chateau Rose’ tomatoes. English photo A display of seed saving in the Exhibition Hall at the Common Ground Country Fair. Amy LeBlanc photo By Jean English Many garden seeds can be collected now and stored for planting in spring. Echinacea seeds are drying on their seed heads – at least those that the goldfinches aren’t

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Cluster or Hill Planting

  Clusters of corn, with beans interplanted   Onions grow in clusters of three or four with up to 10 inches between. By Will Bonsall Photos by the author I once watched a fellow go to great pains to build a mound of at least 5 gallons in volume, which he neatly flattened on top

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Managing Maines Forests

Increasing Carbon Sequestration and Decreasing Carbon Emissions By Mitch Lansky In 2015, 196 countries agreed to act to limit global warming. To meet their climate goals, just reducing emissions may not be enough. We also need to increase carbon sequestration. While sequestration opportunities exist with farm and pasture soils, Maine, which is 82.5 percent forested,

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Do It Yourself Medicine

  Red clover and dandelion root – two nourishing wild plants to tincture. English photo By Joyce White Plants are all chemists, Tirelessly assembling the molecules of the world. – Gary Snyder What a revelation to me at midlife in the 1990s when Maine naturalist Jean Hoekwater introduced me to the idea that I could

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Harvest Kitchen Delicious Dairy

  Tide Mill Creamery’s products at the Common Ground Country Fair show a few of the many ways to enjoy local, organic dairy products and support our farmers and processors. English photo By Roberta Bailey It is the best of times. It is the worst of times. Small dairy and cheese businesses are starting up all over

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Organic Integrity in the Supply Chain

By Chris Grigsby MOFGA Certification Services LLC Director At the annual Accredited Certifiers Association and USDA National Organic Program’s (NOP) certifier training, held in San Antonio in February 2018, the focus was on reporting about recent breakdowns in the integrity of product certified as organic and steps taken to mitigate these risks moving forward. In addition, many

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MOFGA the Maine Forest and Climate Change

Connect with MOFGA’s Low Impact Forestry Project to learn about carbon sequestration in our woodlands. English photo By Mitch Lansky and Peter Hagerty Years ago the Low Impact Forestry (LIF) Project surveyed MOFGA members who owned forestland. We asked for feedback from landowners, whether they owned 1 acre or 500. The survey was not scientific, but it did reveal that

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Labeling Livestock Products

A well designed label that meets labeling regulations. By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Labeling of meat and poultry products, including eggs, does not have to be difficult if you follow the directions and the process carefully. Always start with a mock-up of your label for the submittal process. Don’t have it printed until it has been approved. Approval can

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