New Projects

2020 Maine Drought and Agriculture Report

Widespread drought in 2020 affected agriculture across the state of Maine. In response, the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) activated permissions for emergency haying and grazing of acres normally set aside through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). In September, FSA additionally designated Aroostook County (home to Maine’s potato industry) as a primary national disaster area, […]

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Increasing Maine Farmer Capacity to Succeed in a Changing Environment: Needs Assessment

Researchers at UMaine are collaborating with Maine farmer groups to identify, develop, and document their needs and priorities regarding weather information, services, and farm management decision support tools. Our team recently received funding from the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions to conduct this work. The primary activity will be structured query and dialogue between Maine apple, […]

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Assessing Climate Perceptions and Developing Adaptation Resources for Small, Medium and Beginning Farms

Researchers at the University of Maine and University of Vermont are collaborating on a USDA grant to develop climate resilience tools and resources specifically addressing the needs of small, medium, and beginning farms in New England. Agricultural climate change adaptation will require specialized outreach efforts and resources to ensure continued farm viability. Lead by Dr. […]

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Ag Specialists Climate Change Interview Series

In order to share perspectives on how climate change is impacting different agricultural sectors in Maine, MECAN is collecting a series of Specialist Interviews. This is an ongoing effort and interviews may be added periodically; to recommend an interview please contact Erin Roche, erin.roche@maine.edu. To read the text of each interview, click on the titles […]

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