BDN article on mowing, bobolinks quotes Kersbergen
The Bangor Daily News quoted Richard Kersbergen, a University of Maine Cooperative Extension professor of sustainable dairy and forage systems, in the article, “Maine farm under fire after mowing nesting fields for declining bird species.” A farmer at Hart Farm in Holden recently mowed open fields to make hay to feed the farm’s dairy cows. But those fields were home to a number of bobolinks, a bird whose population is declining at an increasing rate and whose chicks were under further threat from the mowing. Birders had advocated for the farmers to postpone mowing to give chicks a better chance of survival, the article states. The situation has tradeoffs on both sides — the farm plays a crucial role in preserving agriculture in Maine but both cows and birds are part of its ecosystem, leaving no easy answer. “If you’re trying to feed a milking cow, you need the best nutrition you can give them. It really is critical for farmers to get that first cutting,” said Kersbergen. The farm’s land has been under threat of development, so prioritizing its dairy cows in the short term will ensure its agricultural survival and preserve the habitat for other species in the long term, according to the BDN.