Board of Agriculture Survey

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Beth Calder writes:

“Hello fellow Cheese Guild members:

I was contacted about an important survey that the Board of Agriculture is conducting this summer, please see the email below and attached Word Doc. I realize summer is not the best time because you are all so busy, but your feedback to the Board is important so that your needs are appropriately addressed in their report especially in these trying economic times. I want to thank you in advance for your time and participation. Look forward to seeing everyone soon.

Beth

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Beth Calder, PhD
Extension Food Science Specialist
University of Maine
Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition
5735 Hitchner Hall, Rm #232
Orono, ME. 04469-5735

Dear Beth,

The Board of Agriculture is conducting a survey of research and extension education needs for agricultural organizations in Maine. The survey instrument is linked here. Submissions are due by August.

This survey is important to both UMaine Cooperative Extension and NSFA, so we would like to see a good return rate. The Board of Agriculture advises the University on program and staff needs. The new faculty positions identified as high priority
by the Board based on the last survey were eventually filled. The Board’s formal recommendations provide strong justifications for new position proposals to the University’s upper administration. We appreciate any help you can provide for a
successful survey.

Shannon Johnson
Administrative Assistant II
College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture
Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station
5782 Winslow Hall, Room 106
Orono, ME 04469
207-581-3205 P
207-581-9388 F

Maine Artisan Bread Fair and Trade Show Aug 1

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The first annual Bread Fair will be in Skowhegan on Saturday, August 1st, from 10 am to 2 pm. Live music, fired-up ovens producing samples of bread made from Maine grains, and tables offering the accoutrement of bread pleasure and production – books, tools, small farm equipment, cheese, jams, grains, and flour – will invite ever more people to consider the good reasons for supporting local foods.

The Fair will be held in conjunction with the 2009 Kneading Conference in Skowhegan (July 30 and 31st), and the organizers are looking for local cheesemakers who would like to participate in the Fair, which will be free and open to the public.

Contact coordinator Wendy Hebb (wendyhebb@roadrunner.com) before June 22nd if you would like to sign up, or for more information.

Does Cheese Cause Global Warming?

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The methane that cows (and other ruminants) emit while they digest their food is 20 times better at trapping heat in our atmosphere than CO2 — as a result, when Stoneyfield Farms commissioned a study on their company’s carbon footprint, they were shocked to find out that milk made more of an impact on global climate change than transportation, heating, or the energy used to run their plants.

Luckily, scientists are studying whether this must always be the case, and have now found that feeding cows a diet of flax and alfalfa (instead of corn and soy) reduces methane production significantly — and their coats are shiny too!