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B854: Cost Of Producing Milk In Maine: Results From The 2013 Cost-Of-Production Survey, Xuan Chen,, Gary Anderson, Dylan Bouchard, Julia Mcguire, George K. Criner, David Marcinkowski

Bulletins

The state of Maine has a unique tier-pricing program for dairy farms, established in 2004, which has been funded by milk-handling fees paid by processors. Given the nature of volatile production costs in dairy farming, it is important to update the baseline cost estimates for each tier every three years. This study aims to provide a precise baseline estimate of cost of production for each tier so that state legisla­tors can better manage the tier-pricing program. The authors provide a historic overview of past Maine dairy cost-of-production studies. They analyze the trend of the cost of producing milk in Maine …

B846: Growing Season Parameter Reconstructions For New England Using Killing Frost Records, 1697-1947, William R. Baron, David C. Smith

Bulletins

In New England, killing frosts in the late spring and early fall mark the limits of the region's growing seasons. Over the years, farmers have tried to anticipate when to plant and when to harvest to safely prevent their crops from experiencing the harmful effects of freezing. As a hedge against failing memory, some farmers kept notes on when killing frosts occurred so that they could more readily calculate in the years to come when to sow and when to reap. Some of these notes have survived and are now preserved in archives and libraries across the region, or remain …

B843: The Ecology, Economics, And Management Of Potato Cropping Systems: A Report Of The First Four Years Of The Maine Potato Ecosystem Project, A. Randall Alford, Francis A. Drummond, Eric R. Gallandt, Eleanor Groden, David A. Lambert, Matt Liebman, Michele C. Marra, Jeffrey C. Mcburnie, Gregory A. Porter, Bacilio Salas

Bulletins

The bulletin reports on the first four years of the Maine Potato Ecosystem Project, a long-term, multidisciplinary study of alternative crop management strategies. The study site is a 15-acre tract on the northern boundary of the University of Maine's Aroostook Farm in Presque Isle, Maine, divided into 96 main plots that are grouped into four blocks. Each block is an area where soil survey data show similar soil characteristics. Thus, given the same production inputs, the crop output is expected to be the same on each plot within a block. Within each block there are 24 plots to which the …

B753: The Uptake Of Nutrients By Katahdin Potatoes As Influenced By Soil Moisture Regimes And Rates Of Fertilization, Gurbachan Singh Kalra, Roland A. Struchtemeyer

Bulletins

In Aroostook County, Maine, where the annual average rainfall is 35-40 inches, it is generalized by many that moisture is not a limiting factor in potato production. Weather data for Aroostook do, however, show frequent periods of low rainfall during the growing season, and these periods do cause temporary moisture deficiencies in the crop. Struchtemeyer, based on irrigation research in Maine, showed that the potato plant needs approximately 1 inch of water per week during the growing season. From the 1936 to 1955 Maine Weather Records, Pullen and Schrumpf (23) found that about 70 percent of the time, less than …

B749: Pulping, Biomass, And Nutrient Studies Of Woody Shrub And Shrub Sizes Of Tree Species, Andrew I. Chase, Harold E. Young

Bulletins

The research described in this report was a further effort to determine the potential of woody plants and forest waste not normally used commercially as a source of wood pulp. The results of previous studies of this subject have been reported in several technical journals and as LSA Experiment Station Bulletins over a period of several years.

It was concluded that the only feasible way of harvesting this type of material for pulping would be as a whole plant. The small size and large proportions of bark and small branches would preclude any kind of barkwood separation process. If species …

B752: Reserve Milk Supplies Of Milk Processors In Maine And Massachusetts, Homer B. Metzger

Bulletins

In making payments to producers, fluid milk dealers pay for milk on a utilization basis. That used as fluid whole milk, low fat, or skim milk is paid for at a Class I price and all other milk, regardless of how used, is paid for at a lower Class II price. The milk classified as Class II is often distinguished as that processed and that not processed at the fluid milk receiving plant. The latter is shipped to a surplus milk disposal facility and in Maine, the dealer pays producers a lower, Class lib price for it. This milk ultimately …

B741: Structure, Conduct, And Performance Of The Commercial Campground Industry In Maine Part Ii: Industry Conduct And Performance, Louis W. Pompi, George J. Seel

Bulletins

This study deals specifically with the privately owned and operated commercial campground industry in Maine. The general goals of the research are: 1. To assemble basic, quantitative data for Maine's commercial campground industry. 2. To analyze these data for the purpose of providing detailed information, having implications for both public policy formulation and the management of new and existing campground firms, on the structure, conduct and performance of the industry.

B662: Costs And Returns On Maine Broiler Farms, Kenneth E. Wing, Frank D. Reed

Bulletins

This bulletin, in addition to presenting some statistical data on the growth and development of the broiler industry in Maine, includes the results of a survey made in 1967 of a representative sample of Maine contract broiler growers. A sample of 180 out of the approximately 900 broiler farms in Maine was surveyed during the summer of 1967 to obtain operating results for 1966. From this sample, 103 farms supplied information that was analyzed in this study. The average Maine broiler farm in 1966 had 20,913 square feet of floor space, which was unoccupied for an average of 65 days …

B655: Maine Egg Marketing: A Structural Study, Chung-Jeh Yeh

Bulletins

This study, from 1967, was designed to provide basic information concerning the movement of table eggs through the major marketing firms located in Maine. The primary purpose of the report was to aid in better understanding the structure of the present egg marketing systems in Maine in order that: (1) efficient alternatives to the present egg marketing systems could be developed, and (2) Maine's competitive position in out-of-state markets could be improved.

B646: Aerial Photographic Methods Of Potato Disease Detection, F. E. Manzer, George R. Cooper

Bulletins

Aerial photography was shown to be a valuable tool for the detection of late blight and other diseases and disorders of potato. Aero infrared and Ektachrome Aero Infrared films were used to demonstrate that potato foliage, normally highly reflective to near-infrared radiation, loses this property when in an unhealthy condition. The 10 in reflectivity seems to vary in proportion to the magnitude of the vine damage. Vine damage resulting from infection by the late blight fungus can be detected on either of the infrared film before visual plant symptoms develop.

B619: An Economic Study Of Sheep Production In Maine, Dean F. Tuthill

Bulletins

This study of sheep production in Maine was done in the summer of 1962 on the prior year's beep operation. Records of 60 producers were included in the study, approximately a 30 percent sample of producers with 20 or more mature ewes per flock. The bulletin describes the characteristics of sheep producers and their operations, the management and marketing practices, investments, and expenses.

B606: An Economic Study Of The Beef Cattle Industry In Maine, Dean F. Tuthill, John A. Graffam

Bulletins

This study was designed to determine the nature and location of the beef cattle industry of Maine, to investigate its economic aspects and to ascertain the conditions under which a beef enterprise would most likely succeed. This information should be useful to both present and prospective beef enterprise operators.

B593: Handling And Processing Broilers In Maine: Part Ii—Quality Losses In Live Broilers, And Methods Of Handling To Reduce Bruising And To Improve Efficiency, Lloyd J. Jewett, Richard Saunders

Bulletins

The time spent in getting broilers from the farm to the processing plant is a brief interval, yet it is during this period that most bruising occurs. Bruising lowers the quality of birds. This study from 1960 looks at the cause and amount of quality losses in broilers when they are moved from the farm to the plant; devises methods of reducing quality losses and improving labor efficiency, and evaluates the economic significance of these methods.

B592: Handling And Processing Broilers In Maine: Part 1—Costs And Efficiencies In Assembling Live Broilers For Processing, Lloyd J. Jewett

Bulletins

Processor-truckers are faced with the problem of how to move live broilers from the farm to the plant at lower cost and with less bruising. This study from 1960 was designed (1) to determine the costs and man-hour requirements for assembling live broilers, (2) to determine the importance of factors affecting assembly costs and labor requirements, and (3) to find ways of improving present conditions. An attempt was made to measure the effect of various types of broiler houses, load-out facilities, flock size and distance from farm to plant. Also an attempt was made to determine the effect of assembly …

B571: Contract Broiler Growing In Maine, Richard F. Saunders

Bulletins

The Maine broiler industry had its beginning in the late 1920s and early 1930s with the greatest development occurring after World War II. Live poultry buyers, who later became processors, were the originators of the industry and have played the leading role in its development. Processing and broiler production along with hatching egg production and hatchery operations are vertically integrated to a relatively high degree in Maine. Broiler production in Maine has continued to increase at a more rapid rate than broiler production in the entire United States. By 1957 broiler production in Maine had reached 50 million birds which …

B531: Sources Of Maine Poultry Meat And Market Outlets, W. E. Pullen, W. E. Savage

Bulletins

No episode in the history of Maine's agriculture was as spectacular as the rapid growth of the poultry meat industry. The leading role in this expansion was played by broilers. Within the 15-year span from 1938 to 1952, the number of broilers produced increased more than 50-fold, from less than 400,000 birds in 1938 to more than 23 million in 1952. Gross farm income from broilers increased even more rapidly, from about $200,000 in 1938 to nearly $24,000,000 by 1952. This expansion in commercial broiler production made the poultry industry jump from its usual third-place position as a source of …

B521: Containers For Shipping Apples, Homer C. Woodward

Bulletins

Studies since 1946 affirm that the major causes of apple bruising in Maine are the methods used in packing the containers, layer materials, and handling. During the past two years, the emphasis of the studies has been testing of different containers and packing materials to determine which give the apples the best protection. Those who pack apples have become increasingly conscious of the higher costs involved. Therefore, the cost of the various containers and packaging materials also was studied. Thus, the overall objective of the study was to determine what type(s) of container or containers and materials give the best …

B509: Commercial Washing Of Maine Potatoes, Alvah L. Perry

Bulletins

Shippers and receivers displayed considerable interest in a previous study which showed that shoppers would choose washed potatoes in preference to unwashed potatoes even though the washed potatoes were being sold at a premium price. The previous study was carried out with washing, grading, packaging, transporting, displaying, and pricing of the potatoes under the direct supervision of research personnel. The industry expressed a desire to test the acceptance of washed potatoes under commercial conditions where market forces would control demand and establish price. This study was conducted with that purpose in mind.