Event to help farmers enter new market
PRESQUE ISLE — CROPP Cooperative and Maine Organic Milling are co-sponsoring an evening field event Thursday, Aug. 2 from 6-8 p.m. at Kenney Porter Seed Farms, located at 131 State Road in Presque Isle. This will be a practical workshop on everything farmers and landowners need to know to tap into Maine’s new market for organic feed crops and will be focused on the practical steps farmers and landowners can take this fall to prepare for planting organic barley next spring.
Maine Organic Milling, a Maine Chapter 85 cooperative formed by CROPP’s organic dairy producers in the state, owns and operates an all-organic mill in Auburn, which now provides a significant new market destination for organic feed crops grown locally. The main thrust of this initiative in Aroostook County is to identify fallow land that could be put into production immediately growing organic feed crops, primarily spring barley, without having to go through the three-year organic transition process. “I’ve talked with Aroostook County farmers who have the land and capacity to start out or expand,” said John Chartier, organic outreach coordinator for the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and CROPP. “Many times the thing that holds them back is not having a solid market. This program offers multi-year contracts at very favorable prices which open up the possibility for farmers to expand into organics, take care of their soils, and add to their bottom line.”
The event will include information on organic certification assistance, display and discussion of organic fertilizers and custom farming services offered in the region. Multi-year contracts will be offered.
An agronomic discussion will focus on crop rotations, soil-building strategies, soil pH, mineral-balancing requirements and fall soil preparation. For more information, call Chartier at 521-1200 or Tate McPherson at 551-8301.
