Cooperative Extension

Morning Ag Clips announces Master Gardener Volunteer training applications open

Morning Ag Clips announced University of Maine Cooperative Extension is accepting applications for the 2020 Master Gardener Volunteer training in Penobscot, Somerset and Aroostook counties. Classes will meet weekly Feb. 25 through May 21 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the UMaine Extension office in Bangor, and will resume for four weeks in September. […]

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BDN speaks with Forstadt for article about stress, farming

The Bangor Daily News spoke with Leslie Forstadt, a human development specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for the article “What are the causes of stress among farmers?” which was the first in a two-part series. People in many occupations can experience family stress, but farming careers are especially interwoven with family life. And […]

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New farmers invited to find business success at agricultural show

The Beginning Farmer Resource Network (BFRN), a coalition of agricultural agencies in Maine, will host free workshops and offer consultation services to Maine’s newest farmers Jan. 14–16 during the Maine Agricultural Trades Show at the Augusta Civic Center. Two Jan. 15 workshops will focus on multiple aspects of farm labor. Four Jan. 16 workshops will […]

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Dill talks with Press Herald about increase in tick-borne illnesses

Griffin Dill talked with the Portland Press Herald about the increase of tick-borne illnesses in Maine last year. Anaplasmosis diagnoses reached a record high in 2019, with at least 685 confirmed cases of the tick-borne illness, while the number of Lyme disease cases also were up. “Ticks were abundant and highly active in 2019,” said […]

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Bangor Daily News interviews Coffin about chickens

Donna Coffin was a source for the Bangor Daily News for its story discouraging people from keeping chickens as house pets because they harbor bacteria harmful to humans, including salmonella and Campylobacter which can be fatal in extreme cases. At the very least, both can cause a great deal of digestive and intestinal discomfort, including […]

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SFGate cites Kirby about centipedes

SFGate, a site affiliated with the San Francisco Chronicle, cited Clay Kirby in an article about centipedes being an all-natural form of pest control as they eat termites, bedbugs and cockroaches. Kirby, an entomologist and insect diagnostician with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, said instances of people being bitten by house centipedes are rare […]

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Cooperative Extension to provide produce safety course 

University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training to Maine residents from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 16, at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show at the Augusta Civic Center. The course provides a foundation for produce safety, best practices, co-management of natural resources and food safety, Food Safety Modernization Act […]

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UMaine Extension receives grant to recycle agricultural greenhouse plastic

University of Maine Cooperative Extension has been awarded $38,764 by a one-year State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection Waste Diversion Grant to develop a statewide pilot program to recycle agricultural greenhouse plastic. The grant proposes that a voluntary recycling program can achieve a high percentage of grower participation, and affordably divert and recycle a […]

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