Exhibit at the Big E in 2014

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The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry would like to invite interested organizations to apply for exhibiting opportunities this September in the State of Maine Building at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The State of Maine building currently has 2 remaining exhibit locations and will be accepting applicants for these remaining locations until Friday, March 28th.

Over the course of the 17 day fair in 2013, the Big E fairgrounds had over 1.4 Million visitors from New England and surrounding areas. An estimated 850,000 visitors tour the Avenue of States where each New England State has its own building; including the State of Maine which is dedicated to selling and promoting Maine and its culture. This is a great opportunity to showcase products or services that positively represent the State of Maine to a large audience, with two booth size options including 13’x10’ and 13’x20’ measurements.

Please visit our website for application materials and more details on this opportunity. Contact us at 287-3494 with any questions you might have on exhibiting at the Big E. Please feel free to share this notification with any party that may be interested in this unique opportunity.

Thank you for your interest in promoting the State of Maine!

Sincerely,

Jessica Nixon
Promotions Coordinator
Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Agricultural Resource Development Division

LD1786 Reported Out of Ag Committee

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After a work session in the Legislature’s Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry that included FOUR separate votes on three versions of a bill, the committee finally reported out all THREE versions of a bill that would allow unregulated sales of milk and milk products from the farm only to the full Legislature. The majority (by a 6 to 5 vote as Ought To Pass) reported out a bill crafted by Rep. Craig Hickman as a combination of the original bill (submitted by Rep. William Noon) and a proposal submitted at the public hearing by the Department of Ag, Conservation, and Forestry. One minority group reported out as Ought to Pass a bill with the language of the original Noon bill shifted from MSRA section 416 to 2901. A second minority group reported out as Ought to Pass Rep. Hickman’s amendment plus the requirements to post an annual water test as well as a certificate showing the dairy producer had attended a Dairy Sanitation course offered by Maine Cooperative Extension.

After the testimony, the work session, a party caucus, and some astonishing back-and-forth between committee members at the end it appears that all the committee members except for one were in favor of some way to allow unregulated on-farm sales of milk products. The disagreement, and thus the three versions, is about the extent of that deregulation. Some would prefer complete deregulation for those who would choose, while others would like dairy producers who do not want to be licensed to demonstrate to their customers (by posting evidence) that they have clean water and understand the basics of dairy sanitation.

My understanding is that the leadership of the Maine Senate and House will choose to vote on one ore more of the bills from among the three versions voted out. If they choose different versions, or if there are amendments added in either vote, the bill would then go to a conference committee for work to become a final version that can be voted on in both houses then, if passed, sent on to the Governor for his signature or veto. Stay tuned.

Request For Dairy Production Photos from Gary Anderson

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Many of you attended one of the three raw milk meetings we had across the state the last couple months. We are currently planning to have a meeting of all licensed processors at the Dept of Ag with a tentative date of April 16. We hope that this meeting can answer questions about what testing is done in Augusta (and that is the reason why we are having the meeting in Augusta so that Linda Stahlnecker is able to be with us to answer questions), what type of testing is available in Orono for mastitis and sanitation issues, updated information on food safety issues, open discussion with the milk inspectors and a chance to talk with the person responsible for the milk program. A key part of the day is devoted to answering questions that you have.

My request to you is that I am looking for pictures of animal housing, milking parlors, milking stands, stanchion setups, bulk tank rooms, milk cans, milk storage, cheeserooms, vats and cold storage to answer questions about licensed facilities and how they carry on their milking and processing. If you are willing to provide pictures from your operation and can email me photos from your phone, camera, etc. I would appreciate it very much. I can visit farms, but I am trying to reduce travel costs.

If you have questions/concerns, please let me know.

–Gary Anderson
University of Maine Cooperative Extension