Research Programs

Governor Mills Proclaims 2025 as the “Year of Youth in Agriculture” in Maine

Leaders Augusta– Governor Janet Mills, in collaboration with the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry (DACF) and Maine Department of Education (DOE), has proclaimed 2025 as the “Year of Youth in Agriculture” in Maine. The Year of Youth in Agriculture will provide opportunities to spotlight and elevate young adult voices in agriculture by leveraging […]

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November 29, 2024 is “Maine Grown Christmas Tree Day” 

Governor Mills Declares November 29, 2024, as “Maine Grown Christmas Tree Day”  Maine-grown Christmas Trees and Wreaths Generate $18 Million in Annual Economic Impact  Augusta – The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) announced today that Governor Janet Mills has proclaimed Friday, November 29, 2024, as “Maine Grown Christmas Tree Day” to honor […]

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UMaine leads international team to study, conserve woodcock

The American woodcock is a well known shorebird found across eastern North America. Each year, they migrate from overwintering locations in the southeastern U.S. to breeding locations across the northeastern and midwestern U.S. and southeastern Canada. To gather data on the woodcock’s migration, a team led by faculty at the University of Maine has collaborated […]

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A portrait of John Daigle

Native Plant Trust honors Daigle for leadership in ash tree conservation

John Daigle, professor of forest recreation management at the University of Maine, is receiving the 2024 Regional Impact Award from Native Plant Trust, a plant conservation organization focused solely on New England’s native plants. The award recognizes regionally significant leadership and achievement in conservation, horticulture and education.  A citizen member of Penobscot Nation, Daigle created […]

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American lobster population, habitat preferences shifting, study finds

American lobsters along Maine’s coast have relocated to new habitats, while the population simultaneously shrunk in abundance and grew older, according to a new study by University of Maine researchers. For decades, the vast majority of adult lobsters resided in boulder shelter habitats. This knowledge helped inform longtime conservation efforts and regulations within the more […]

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Ph.D. student awarded scholarship from national potato organization

The Potato Leadership, Education, and Advancement Foundation (Potato LEAF) awarded Xiuyan Zhang, a Ph.D. student with the University of Maine’s Ecology and Environmental Sciences Program, its 2024-25 Academic Scholarship.  The $10,000 scholarship, awarded annually to a graduate student who is interested in research that could benefit the potato industry, will support Zhang, who is studying […]

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Five MAFES researchers receive awards from the state to boost specialty crop production

Augusta (August 27, 2024) – The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) announced today an investment in Maine’s agricultural sector of more than $600,000 in Specialty Crop Block Grant Program awards (SCBGP). This funding will help a diverse group of recipients, including the University of Maine System, North Spore, LLC, and the Maine Organic […]

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Planting for the Future

School of Forest Resources Assistant Professor Jay Wason and his graduate students discuss research that investigates how Maine forests will respond to our changing climate in this short video.

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Pest predictor identifies ingredients for ecological recipe for destruction

If you’ve felt the familiar itch of browntail moth rash, seen the grayish-green needles of an infested hemlock or watched as woodpeckers bore into ash trees for a meal hidden beneath the surface, you’ve experienced the devastating effects of non-native pests. Browntail moth, hemlock wooly adelgid and emerald ash borer are only three of the […]

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Science interviews Alyokhin on new tool for combating pesticide-resistant beetle

Science interviewed Andrei Alyokhin, a professor of applied entomology at the University of Maine School of Biology & Ecology, for a story about Calantha, a new pesticide to combat Colorado potato beetles. These beetles have developed a resistance to traditional pesticides over the years, but Calantha, created by GreenLight Biosciences, uses RNA interference (RNAi) to […]

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