Maine Potato Board pleased with agricultural funding

By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
    PRESQUE ISLE – The state has received $4.39 million in agricultural funding for projects, and officials with the Maine Potato Board are very pleased.
     The funds, which were secured by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, are included in the fiscal year 2010 Agriculture Appropriations spending bill conference report which was approved Oct. 8 by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 76-22.
    “Each of these projects is important to sustaining and enhancing Maine’s agriculture industry,” said Collins in a press release, “which is a vital component of the state’s economy.”
    The funding for Maine projects include:
    • $450,000 for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service, Potato Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Late Blight program. The purpose of this program is to provide Maine potato growers with current information on specific and timely treatments in order to minimize the number of pesticide applications and maximize potato yield.
    “The $450,000 for the IPM late blight program is not guaranteed every year,” said Tim Hobbs, director of development and grower relations for the Maine Potato Board. “That’s the money that gets scouts out into the fields and it’s a crucial part to our industry. Without that program, we would have been in a lot worse shape this year as far as late blight goes than we were. What happened to growers in central and southern Maine compared to what happened to us this year was dramatically different.
    “We attribute that to two things … one, is the IPM program and the other is that growers here have dealt with late blight before and understand what type of organism it is,” he said. “We’re thrilled to have funding for the IPM program again. We need to keep that program going, and this funding is one way to have that happen.”
    Since 1977, UMaine Cooperative Extension’s Potato Integrated Pest Management Program has worked closely with growers and processors to maximize the value of the crop and protect the industry from damage due to disease and predation from insects and other pests.
    “We coordinate a statewide network of electronic weather stations, and survey 100 potato fields on a weekly basis for weeds, insects and diseases,” said Jim Dill, a UMaine Extension professor and pest management specialist. “The resulting data helps our IPM scientists track potential pest outbreaks and provide growers with current information on specific and timely treatments in order to minimize pesticide applications and maximize potato yield.”
    The information from the field scouting and electronic weather stations is entered into a Pest Management Hotline, a voice mail system operating on a toll-free telephone line. Clients have access to the information 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
    During the growing season, information on the Pest Management Hotline is updated twice weekly; more frequently if conditions warrant. Maine potato farmers saved an estimated $17 million of their 2008 crop from potential threats such as late blight thanks to the IPM program.
    • $2.249 million for USDA-ARS New England Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratory. The USDA-ARS New England Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratories in Orono and Presque Isle are the only USDA-ARS labs located in New England. The facilities perform critical research on cropping systems, management practices, the efficient use of nutrients and water, and the control of pathogens, insects, and weeds. Specifically, the laboratories conduct experiments to address the unique challenges that face potato growers both in the region and across the nation.
    “We rely on USDA-ARS labs both in Orono and their satellite office in Presque Isle for potato research,” said Hobbs. “That $2.249 million helps leverage some of our research dollars that we have. When we do our research projects, we take that into account. The lab does a lot of potato work for us, and that ongoing research is important.”
    Hobbs said the Maine Potato Board is appreciative of Sen. Collins’ efforts to secure the funding.
    “We thank the Senator for her diligence and persistence and it paid off,” he said. “We’re very grateful.”