University of Maine Cooperative Extension has launched a new online resource designed to be particularly useful to aspiring or existing food manufacturers wanting to produce specialty food products. The new website, Resources for Food Entrepreneurs, was created by UMaine Extension regional small-business educator and Extension professor Louis Bassano; Extension food science specialist and associate professor […]
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The Portland Press Herald published an article on the FoodCorps program and its efforts to improve the eating habits of Maine students. FoodCorps is a national service organization affiliated with AmeriCorps that places its service members in high-need areas where schools are an important part of the nutritional safety net, according to the article. A […]
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The Bangor Daily News reported Cathryn Kloetzli, an agriculture and food systems professional with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, is advising farmers and gardeners to learn how to deal with drought, even though parched growing seasons are rare in Maine and moisture levels in the ground are likely to increase due to the growing […]
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Maine Maple Sunday is not until March 26, but the sap is already flowing in some parts of the state according to Kathy Hopkins, a maple syrup expert with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. A typical season for maple producers is usually a cold January and February, with trees being tapped in mid-to-late February […]
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Lynne Holland, a community education assistant with University of Maine Cooperative Extension, will lead a March 9 talk in Freeport on pesticide-free methods of combating the browntail moth, The Forecaster reported. The insects damage trees and can cause rashes and “severe reactions” in some who touch the caterpillar’s fur, according to the article. Holland’s talk […]
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Cilantro, basil and kale, oh my! Vine Street School in Bangor harvested fresh herbs and greens grown in the lobby aquaponics tank for students and parents to take home for the holidays. Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture — fish or other aquatic animals being raised — and hydroponics — plants being grown in water. […]
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The Associated Press reported a group of experts will travel to Bath to discuss the effects of the invasive browntail moth on Feb. 22. The moth has the ability to defoliate trees, and has tiny hairs that can cause a rash and respiratory problems in humans, the AP reported. Speakers at the event will include […]
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Frank Drummond, a professor of insect ecology at the University of Maine, spoke with the Portland Press Herald for the article, “The disappearance of Maine’s rusty patched bumblebee.” Drummond is the last known person to hold a Maine-born rusty patched bumblebee, according to the article. He held the bee in 2009 while his students collected […]
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The Portland Press Herald spoke with current and former University of Maine horticulturists for a “Maine Gardener” column on how advances in DNA analysis are influencing the plant naming decisions that take place every six years at the International Botanical Congress. “Every once in a while there comes an enormous breakthrough that breaks the system […]
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The Republican Journal and Daily Bulldog reported the University of Maine will run Camp North Woods again this summer at the UMaine 4-H Camp and Learning Center at Bryant Pond. The camp will host children ages 8 to 10 from July 16–21 and children 10 to 12 from July 30–Aug. 4. Both weeks are coed […]
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