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Moldy Grain

By Jean English If the grain or feed that you buy for your animals is green or blue/green and stinky, it’s not good. That was the bottom line of LeBelle Hicks’ talk at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show in Augusta in January – and it was what people in the audience, who had inadvertently purchased

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Keynote

2009 Farmer to Farmer Conference Keynote Speech Prof. E. Ann Clark challenged Farmer to Farmer participants to design systems that will make their farms more perennial and sustainable. By E. Ann Clark, Professor, University of Guelph, Ontario The premise of Ann Clark’s keynote speech at the 2009 Farmer to Farmer Conference was that agriculture, including

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Cut Flowers

2009 Farmer-to-Farmer Conference Linda Mercer described ageratum as a “workhorse plant” in bouquets. This bouquet displayed in the Exhibition Hall at the Common Ground Country Fair, combines zinnias and ageratum. English photo. Adding Value Through Bouquets, Arrangements and More By Dr. Lois Berg Stack and Jean English Linda and Jim Mercer of Sheepscot Flower Farm

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Honeybees

2009 Farmer-to-Farmer Conference Christy Hemenway of Gold Star Honeybees in Bath, Maine, with her top bar hive made of Maine pine, and a bar on which bees have built their own foundation of natural beeswax. Hemenway was one of three beekeepers who talked about different methods of keeping bees naturally at the Farmer to Farmer

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Seeds

2009 Farmer-to-Farmer Conference Presentation by Jodi Lew-Smith and Jim Gerritsen A crop of chives grown for seed at High Mowing Organic Seeds in Vermont. Photo by Heather Jerrett. By Jean English Finding reliable sources of quality organic seed continues to challenge farmers, and market development for organic seed has been slower than anticipated. At the

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Late Blight

By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. As everyone knows, last summer was wet and late blight was widespread on farms and in gardens. Some of you may be tired of hearing about it, but whether the crisis repeats in 2010 depends greatly on the weather and on what gardeners and farmers do to prevent the disease. I

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Regano

Sheep eating Regano and grain at Ells farm in Union, Maine. By Diane Schivera, M.A.T. Coccidia (Eimeria sp.), which are parasitic protozoa, and other internal parasite infestations are a major problem for many livestock farms, reducing growth rates and weight gains in young animals and thus reducing farm income. When a coccidium leaves its host

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Who’s Your Farmer

More and more Maine families buy food directly from local farmers. Here are a few simple questions you can ask your farmer to get a better idea of how your food is being produced – and a few key concepts to listen for when you are having those conversations. How do you manage soil fertility

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Maine Local Twenty

This Maine Food Pyramid incorporates the Maine Local Twenty foods that can feed our state’s population. Illustration by Tim Nason, Abby Sadauckas and Cheryl Wixson. By Cheryl Wixson As a foodie, I’ve often contemplated the ideal of a local food system including products fished, foraged or grown in the Blue Hill peninsula area. In developing

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Harvest Kitchen- Spring Cravings

Toki Oshima drawing By Roberta Bailey Once again we have come around to that time of year when our winter diets give way to spring cravings and, hopefully, lots of spring greens. First come the delicate little sprigs pinched into the palm, harbingers of hope and full salad bowls, the first fruits of those winter

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