About Highmoor Farm
Highmoor Farm in Monmouth is UMaine’s center for research and development for Maine’s fruit and vegetable growers. Highmoor is part of a network of farms and forests managed by the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station that power research inspired by Maine’s natural resources.
Highmoor Farm encompasses 278 acres on Route 202 in Monmouth, Maine, with 17 acres in orchards and 5 acres of tilled fields for vegetable and small fruit research. The facilities consist of two large barns, two laboratories, a shop, 10 cold storage lockers, two hoop houses, and a greenhouse. Highmoor Farm is one of five research farms in the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station and part of the College of Earth, Life, and Health Sciences. Highmoor Farm also is a center for University of Maine Cooperative Extension outreach and research activities. Highmoor has a long history of providing integrated research and extension programs for Maine.
Highmoor Farm is ideally suited to provide research-based information for the apple industry. It also is home to vegetable and small fruit variety trials and integrated pest management programs. Apple research focuses on evaluating new varieties and winter-hardy rootstocks for Maine and studying methods to improve post-harvest quality of fruits. Vegetable and fruit trials have focused on tomatoes, green peppers, onions, sweet corn, pumpkins, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Scientists also are evaluating new mulching techniques and greenhouse systems and developing integrated pest management strategies.
Research conducted at Highmoor Farm is delivered to Maine’s fruit and vegetable growers through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Publications about tree fruits, small fruits, vegetables, and the Maine Compost School are available online.
Highmoor Farm staff work with a number of partners including the Maine State Pomological Society, Maine Vegetable and Small Fruit Growers, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, and Maine Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation. The Maine Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation maintains a breeding orchard of chestnut trees at the farm in conjunction with the effort to reestablish American chestnuts in Maine and the region.