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
Company Profile: Barrels Community Market By Melissa White Pillsbury The buzz in the food scene lately has been “locally grown” – and even though the nature of buying your food locally from “farms with a face” goes against the predominant commodity-based supply system of supermarket chains and national food brands, it’s not stopping many of
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
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
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
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
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
Cornerstone for Regional Development and Nature Conservation By Jean English Hardy Vogtman, Deputy Minister for the Environment for Germany, is optimistic about the future of nature conservation and organic agriculture in his country. In the last election, the Greens increased their votes by 25%, so they have more input now; and three Ministers are Greens.
Toki Oshima drawing By CR Lawn and Eli Kaufman “We are facing the germination of something larger than we can imagine. Things are falling in place in our favor.” – Evaluation by a conference attendee “Seed is the missing link in sustainable agriculture. We need seeds that are truly adapted to the organic culture of
Eric Gallandt, Assistant Professor of Weed Ecology and Management, University of Maine Sustainable Agriculture Program, at the 2002 Rogers Farm Field Day, discussing a recently initiated research project studying invertebrate weed seed predators in contrasting cover crop environments. Photo courtesy of Eric Gallandt. Kristan Doolan says that she, along with her husband George van Vlaanderen,
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