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
By Roberta R. Bailey The Common Ground Country Fair is far more than the sum of its tents and activities. It is donkey brays at dawn, manure pitching of presidential magnitude, grass matted down by so many footsteps, cardboard sliding on a hill, the shush of a scythe through oats in a demonstration plot, Sweet
A wood gasification boiler. Wood is burned in the firebox (top), and gases travel downward and are burned at 1,800 to 2,000 F in the ceramic chamber below. The hot gases then pass through a fire-tube heat exchanger to transfer heat to water stored in a large tank. Flue temperatures are usually under 350 F,
A day’s harvest from the gardens in the summer of 2017. Tomatoes growing in pots in the heated greenhouse. Compost being windrowed at the Maine State Prison complex. One of the beehives at the Maine State Prison. By Polly Shyka Photos by the Maine State Prison staff Maine’s maximum security prison in Warren has quite the bustling
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway. Photo by Miksu on Wikipedia Hundreds of community members exchange seeds and scionwood at MOFGA each April. English photo The beginning of MOFGA’s new seed library. English photo By Will Bonsall The whole topic of biodiversity and, in particular, our horticultural genetic heritage – heirloom seeds – has
At the 2018 Maine Agricultural Trades Show, Philip Ackerman-Leist spoke about Mals, Italy, which banned synthetic pesticides. Photo courtesy of Chelsea Green Philip Ackerman-Leist Speaks in Maine By Stowell P. Watters There is a place in Northern Italy, right at the top of the boot, where farmers who raise fruits and vegetables, grain and hay,
Thinking of using grafting wax or compounds on organic fruit trees? Know the NOP rules and, if in doubt, check with your certifier first. English photo By C.J. Walke Over the winter I have been talking with MOFGA Certification Services (MCS) about materials used in organic orchards and fruit tree propagation. As more farmers and
By Ben Hoffman Minimal tillage is essential for healthy, productive soils. In a seven-year study at the University of Western Australia, total organic carbon in the top 4 inches of soil increased by 1.7 tons/acre with no-till and 1 ton under conservation tillage but decreased by 0.2 tons under rotary tillage. (“Tillage, microbial biomass and
A concrete center aisle in a greenhouse is easy to clean but less expensive than an entire floor made of concrete. Photo by Stephanie Burnett Unit heaters are less expensive than boilers but can require more maintenance. Photo by Stephanie Burnett The 2018 Spring Growth Conference at MOFGA addressed seedling production – setting up production
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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