Maine Technology Institute Supports Effort To Boost Maine’s Organic Dairy Farm Industry
Contact: Tucker Kimball (207) 582-4790; Rick Kersbergen (207) 342-5971; David Munson (207) 581-3777
GARDINER, Maine — The Maine Technology Institute board of directors recently approved a cluster enhancement award aimed at stimulating Maine’s organic dairy farm industry. The $78,000 award, matched by a co-investment of $827,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, went to UMaine Cooperative Extension in collaboration with Maine Organic Milk Producers.
“The organic dairy sector is the fastest growing agricultural market in the Northeast,” said Betsy Biemann MTI president. “This project will help Maine dairy producers to have greater success and stronger financial footing in the market.”
The UMaine Cooperative Extension will use MTI funds to purchase equipment for testing different combinations of feed for organic dairy cattle. The tests will enable farmers to identify the best combination that yields the greatest value in milk while reducing the amount of high-cost imported organic grains. Testing will be conducted at the University of Maine’s Witter Center and on organic dairy farms around Maine. The MTI award falls under the state’s Advanced Technologies for Forestry and Agriculture sector.
MTI cluster enhancement awards range up to $200,000 per project and are offered on a competitive basis for comprehensive projects that will stimulate and support the formation and growth of technology businesses and their infrastructure, and lead to clusters of industrial activity in the state’s technology-intensive sectors.