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Water Quality and Production Agriculture Activities
The University of Maine just completed hosting a four-day regional conference in Portland, Maine. We had 62 people register for the conference. We conducted two tours: one to a couple of agricultural operations, and the other was glacial geology field trip. On the final day, we had a symposium on organic dairies. We spent the morning looking at organic dairy management, economics, agronomics, and other aspects so that agronomists are prepared to assist dairy producers in their binds. Four of five team members made at least one presentation at the meeting. We offered 12 CCA credits for the program.
Rogers Farm Field Day was held on July 27. Rogers Farm consists of pproximately 11 acres of the farmland set aside for crop research and is used for forage, small grain and organic/sustainable agriculture projects. Current research projects include investigations on controlling weeds through the use of various green manures, tillage, residue management, and crop rotation.
Along with applied research projects, Rogers Farm is the home of the Penobscot County Master Gardener Demonstration Garden. This three-quarter-acre plot is used by 40 to 50 Master Gardener Volunteers each yea to develop, plant, and maintain the plot, which includes many "gardens within the garden" — a white garden, herb gardens, a perennial border, a Plant-a-Row Garden, and much more.
Rogers Farm also is home to ornamental plant evaluations and shrub rose hardiness trials in the Penobscot County Master Gardener Demonstration Garden. The shrub rose hardiness trials contain more than 125 shrub roses. The annual plant trials include an All-America Selections Display Garden and trials of various groups of annuals.
University of Maine students use Rogers Farm to run their community-supported agriculture program, the Black Bear Food Guild. Students manage a three-acre vegetable garden, providing fresh organically grown vegetables twice a week to 60 share holders. Extra produce is sold at a farm stand at Rogers Farm and at the Orono Farmers' Market.
Representative activities in this focus area include:
- Needs Assessment, Regional Planning: Conduct regular regional needs assessments to review progress, assess status of programs, identify gaps and revise LOGIC model. Meet with regional crop advisors board to assess needs of and opportunities for training crop advisors.
- Peer Reviewed Journal Articles: Develop journal publications on current cropping system trials, including work on alternative cropping systems for organic dairy producers.
- Trainings, Workshops: Conduct annual summer and winter trainings for crop advisors, Extension, NRCS and other agency staff that incorporate results of regional research efforts. Conduct summer field day trainings on topics such as cropping systems for organic dairy farmers, agricultural water conservation and methods to reduce pesticide use.
- New Educational Programs, Demonstrations: Educational materials (training manuals and websites), programs (demonstration site farm tours) and approaches (farmer-led research groups) will be developed and incorporated into regional educational programs. Research results will be translated into Extension recommendations and workshops.
- eXtension: We will continue to develop the E-organic CoP on eXtension.
- Educational Internships, Courses, Scholarly Curricula: Extension and research findings will be incorporated into courses for undergraduate and graduate students in cropping systems science. Students will participate in demonstration research projects through both paid and for-credit internships.
- Management Tools: Extension will strengthen work that adapts and tailors the P-index by incorporating the mix of soils, topography, climate and nutrient sources within our region. We will incorporate improved nutrient testing methods into computer-based mass balance tools to help farmers develop and utilize nutrient management plans. We will improve nutrient testing methods, such as stalk and soil nitrate tests.
