Agriculture Commons^™

Assessing The Influence Of Interseeded Cover Crops On Beneficial Arthropod Abundance In A Northeastern Agroecosystem, Charles Cooper

Honors College

Conservation agriculture approaches are gaining traction as the planet’s food system grapples with climate change, oil depletion, and rampant environmental degradation (Palm et al., 2014). Cover cropping is an integral practice of conservation agriculture. Ground dwelling arthropods play an important role in agroecosystems, providing ecosystem services including seed predation and nutrient cycling. Because the relationship between cover crops and arthropod abundance are likely influenced by management conditions, I investigated arthropod abundance in a field interseeded with cover crops on a research farm in Maine, United States. Interseeding is an emerging practice in the northeastern United States, with potential to address …

Maine Hunger Dialogue And Climate Action Summit Safeguarding Food Systems From A Warming Planet, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

General University of Maine Publications

Promotional flyer for the Maine Hunger Dialogue and Climate Action Summit. "Join students, faculty, and staff from colleges, community colleges, and high schools across the state for this one-day conference. Participants will have an opportunity to network, discuss food security, and climate change, and find solutions to combat these issues within our own communities."

S7e7: How Can Business Savvy Help Maine Farmers Succeed?, Ron Lisnet, Erin Percival Carter

The Maine Question

Like opening any business, starting and operating a farm can be challenging without any in-depth entrepreneurial knowledge or skills. To help strengthen support for farmers’ business skills, University of Maine faculty members Erin Percival Carter and Stephanie Welcomer established the Business, Agriculture, and Rural Development (BARD) technical assistance training program in the Maine Business School.

The BARD program trains UMaine students to serve as consultants for farmers and operators of other small-scale and sustainable agricultural businesses. These students can assist agribusinesses with various aspects of commerce, such as data-management, price-setting, marketing, financial and strategic forecasting, market segmentation, product development, market …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Between Black Soldier Fly Larvae Pathogen Suppression And Growth Substrate In Relation To Maine Agricultural Industries, Haley Morrill

Honors College

Insects are promoted as cost-effective and sustainable protein sources for animal feed. Their utilization may help to avoid a predicted global protein shortage. Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae (BSFL) grow on organic wastes, converting these wastes into larval biomass which can fulfill this purpose. Potential benefits of using BSFL to remediate organic wastes include reduction of waste mass and bacterial load, along with the sale of larvae as a protein supplement. BSFL suppress the growth of some Gram-positive and Gram-negative human pathogens in these substrates; though suppression of Bacillus cereus, a spore-forming bacterium that causes food-poisoning, …

Covid-19_School Of Economics_Malacarne And Colleagues Address The Impacts Of Covid- 19 On Maine's Food System, University Of Maine School Of Economics

Teaching, Learning & Research Documents

Screenshot of a University of Maine School of Economics news release webpage regarding Jonathan Malacarne (SOE Assistant Professor), Jason Lilley (University of Maine Cooperative Extension Professional), and Tora Jackson (Maine Farmer Resource Network) presenting a summary of the impacts of COVID-19 on Maine's food system at the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry's (DACF) 2021 virtual Maine Ag Trades Show.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Maine State Virtual Fair 2020, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshot of University of Maine Cooperative Extension 4-H Club's Maine State Virtual Fair 2020 webpage.

Tapping The Sweet Spot: Predicting The Suitability Of A Woodlot’S Potential To Transition Into A Productive Sugarbush In Maine, Deven M. Teisl

Non-Thesis Student Work

Through conversations with Dr. Sara Velardi, a postdoctoral research associate who has been doing research on maple producers’ scale management decisions in Maine, most current owners and operators in the maple syrup industry have the common interest of expanding their current operations, but they are unsure of how to approach that problem. Due to these current issues, my research focused on creating a sugarbush assessment tool. This assessment tool consists of a set of guidelines which can be utilized by current or future producers and can be used to easily assess woodlots without having to hire a consulting forester to …

What’S Going To Happen To My Pancakes? The Impacts Of Climate Change Upon Blueberries And Sugar Maple, Ashley Kayser

Honors College

The United Nations believes that the foremost challenge of the future will be climate change. Because of human use of fossil fuels, greenhouse gases have been released into the atmosphere at unsustainable rates, which have resulted in an altered climate that will impact weather patterns around the globe. There have already been measurable shifts in precipitation and temperature in many regions; in the state of Maine the general trend has been toward higher temperatures and increased precipitation. This is resulting in impacts to agriculture throughout the state. Blueberries and sugar maple are two culturally and economically valuable crops which will …

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Services & Programs Webpages, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshots of various University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpages featuring announcements regarding various programs, services, and publications provide by the Cooperative Extension during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Food Safety Information For Maine Consumers, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Food Safety Information for Maine Consumers created by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

College Of Natural Sciences, Forestry, And Agriculture_Cropping Systems Course Pse 101 Lecture Slides, Rachel E. Schattman

College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture

Lecture slide deck for Cropping Systems course PSE 101, taught by Rachel E. Schattman, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Agriculture, School of Food and Agriculture Associate and Climate Change Institute, University of Maine. Also includes cover email from Professor Schattman to the Provost Office regarding the inclusion of the COVID-19 pandemic into the lecture on the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Master Gardener Volunteer Policy, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshot of various University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpages featuring the Master Gardner Volunteer Policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_4-H Quaranteen Virtual Science Cafés Webpage, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshots from University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpage showing various Maine 4-H online QuaranTEEN Virtual Science Cafés programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooperative Extension Covid-19_Farming & Livestock Webpages, University Of Maine Cooperative Extension

Cooperative Extension

Screenshots of various University of Maine Cooperative Extension webpages featuring guidance and resources regarding farming and livestock during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forward Not Back: Young People's Search For Community And Farming In Maine, Danielle Walczak

Honors College

In Maine there is a growing body of statistics pointing to the growth of agriculture in the state. Yet with one of the oldest populations in the country, Maine is always asking: how do we bring young people to the state? Farming may be a start. The number of farmers age 34 and under increased 40 percent between 2007 and 2012. Maine is bucking the trend. While most of the country’s farms are decreasing in number and getting bigger in size, Maine farms are increasing in number while staying small. Behind each of these statistics there is a person, a …

Bridging Gaps And Building Solidarity, Shannon Brenner

Honors College

Real innovation for a more sustainable and inclusive food system requires collaboration based on resilient relationships between a diverse range of community partners and across socio-economic boundaries. SNAP incentive programs at farmer’s markets are bridging gaps in food access and sovereignty for thousands of individuals across the country, but what are the far reaching implications of these programs in terms of a sustainable food system, especially in an uncertain economic landscape? Using the findings of a quantitative, interdisciplinary and community inclusive research project of the Community Supported Farmers’ Markets (CSFM), a SNAP incentive program organized by Food and Medicine in …