UMaine Researcher Works to Bring More Organic Milk to the Table
Contact: Rick Kersbergen (207) 342-5971; David Munson (207) 581-3777
ORONO, Maine – When it comes to producing organic milk in Maine, UMaine Cooperative Extension researcher Rick Kersbergen is definitely the farmer’s friend. Assisting the state’s organic milk producers with everything from forage crops to farmyard pests, Kersbergen has made it his mission to provide agricultural entrepreneurs viable production options aimed at fostering a strong organic milk industry in New England.
Kersbergen’s latest project makes use of a $143,000 grant from the USDA to expand grain production and use on organic dairies in Maine and Vermont. Kersbergen is collaborating on this project with Tim Griffin from the USDA Agricultural Research Service New England Plant Soil and Water Lab and Heather Darby from the University of Vermont Cooperative Extension. Information gathered from experimental plots and collaborations between farmers and researchers will be used to help shift current farming methods toward a more integrated model that increases profits by reducing dependence on grain brought in from the Midwest and Canada. Organic grain concentrates currently cost New England’s organic dairies nearly three times as much as non-organic grains.
Organic milk production is one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors in the Northeast, with more than 160 organic dairies operating in the region.