Circle B Farms will be offering a Highbush Blueberry Field Day, to include a farm tour and pruning class (bring your pruners). In the afternoon, Dr. David Handley, UMaine Extension Vegetable and Small Fruit Specialist, will give a presentation on the basics of growing highbush blueberries on a small scale. The $20.00 fee pays for lunch which includes bean hole baked beans, coffee and dessert. Please contact Sam Blackstone, farm owner, to preregister (will need lunch count). Highbush blueberry plants, apple trees and peat moss will be for sale.
Participants will learn how to handle tractors and equipment safely,
how to identify hazards, and how to minimize the chances of accidents.
The course is open to all adults and youth interested, but priority
will be given to youth ages 14 to 16. The course is required for 14
and 15 year olds who plan to operate farm equipment for hire on farms
other than their own. A Federal Certificate of Training will be issued
at the completion of the course after successful completion of the
written test and driving course and with attendance requirements met.
The driving test and written final exam will take place on Saturday,
May 4th at 10am at R.S. Osgood & Sons in East Dixfield.
Pre-registration is required. For more information, to pre-register or to request a disability accommodation, call the Franklin County Office of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension at 1.207.778.4650.
Join us May 5, 2013 for an OPEN pleasure and fun horse show to benefit the Happy Hoofbeats 4-H Club. Easy venue, low cost, great little show season opener. Classes for minis and for Standardbreds too. Something for everyone. All ages welcome!
Location: 196 Blanchard Rd., Cumberland, Maine at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds outdoor riding ring.
Date: Sunday, May 5
Start time: 9 a.m.
Class list is posted on the Happy Hoofbeats Facebook page.
Contact wflowers@maine.rr.com for more information.
All proceeds will benefit Happy Hoofbeats 4-H Club, making a national trip in July to the famous Chincoteague pony swim in Virginia.
The International Maple Grading School is for maple producers, bulk syrup buyers, state inspectors and others needing to accurately grade maple syrup or judge maple product entries at fairs and contests. Quality control issues are also addressed. This school will provide a strong scientific base combined with intensive hands-on exercises. This approach will enable participants to learn how to grade or judge maple products with confidence.
The International Maple Grading School is for maple producers, bulk syrup buyers, state inspectors and others needing to accurately grade maple syrup or judge maple product entries at fairs and contests. Quality control issues are also addressed. This school will provide a strong scientific base combined with intensive hands-on exercises. This approach will enable participants to learn how to grade or judge maple products with confidence.
Are you interested in vegetable gardening but don’t know where to start? Have you tried gardening in the past only to give up in frustration? This course provides the opportunity to learn about the basics of vegetable gardening and then implement what you learned as part of a group gardening effort. We will garden together all season at the Alan Day Community Garden in Norway and share the successes, pitfalls and harvest together. There are two indoor sessions May 13th and May 20th and then we move outside to start gardening!
SYFS Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills — Level 1
Spring 2013
Facilitation skills are not routinely learned and practiced. If you have ever been in a role that you wished you had more skills or practice for, then Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills, Level 1 is for you.
Fun, creative, and thought provoking, the SYFS, Level 1 Curriculum is a dynamic and comprehensive five-Lesson facilitation Training Series full of activities, “lecturettes” and potential aha! moments.
This training series is designed to help you
As a team member or chair, we are expected to produce results in collaboration with others. This is not always easy, and the skills of facilitation are not routinely learned or practiced to be effective in our work.
At least nine participants need to register for the class to be held.
Register online or enroll by mail (Word) (PDF).
umaine.edu/ext-community/strengthening-your-facilitation-skills/level-1
Youth ages 12–17 can join the fun of becoming familiar with campus and what it has to offer. The youth will stay in dorm rooms overnight, eat at the dining halls and attend workshops presented by UMaine professors to get a real feel of what college.
If you are a sheep or goat producer and would like to gain the skills and knowledge to fight the barber pole worm (Haemonchus contorutus) in your sheep and goats, then the one day FAMACHA workshop is for you. You will learn how to use the blood color of the capillaries around the eye of the sheep or goat to determine the degree of infection. The barber pole worm is a blood sucking internal parasite that is a common cause of death and poor-doing in small ruminants.
This workshop will be presented by Dr. Thomas Settlemire & Dr. Richard Brzozowski. Participants will receive an information packet, record sheets and a FAMACHA card.
http://umaine.edu/cumberland/programs/2013-famacha-workshops/
Dave Fuller, Agriculture and Non-Timber Forest Products Professional for UMaine Cooperative Extension, will teach why we prune, what kinds of cuts to make, and learn by doing pruning in a hands-on demonstration. The class will start inside and then we’ll travel to a nearby yard with apple trees of varying age, where pruning and training will be demonstrated. Dress to be outside and bring your favorite pruning tool. Questions are encouraged!
Are you interested in vegetable gardening but don’t know where to start? Have you tried gardening in the past only to give up in frustration? This course provides the opportunity to learn about the basics of vegetable gardening and then implement what you learned as part of a group gardening effort. We will garden together all season at the Alan Day Community Garden in Norway and share the successes, pitfalls and harvest together. There are two indoor sessions May 13th and May 20th and then we move outside to start gardening!
George Hamilton, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension, will demonstrate new tools for making sure your sprayer is delivering the correct rate of pesticides to your crops. Participants will receive 2 pesticide applicator recertification credits. The clinic is followed at 5:00 p.m. by a Twilight Meeting and tour of David Pike’s strawberry and vegetable fields. One pesticide applicator recertification credit will be awarded for the Twilight Meeting.
The meeting includes a tour of David Pike’s strawberry and vegetable fields at Farm to You. David has been a leader in innovative strawberry production techniques, including raised beds, plastic mulch, fertigation, fall cropping, and season extension. There will be some new low tunnel technology on display, as well as replant experiments and new varieties on trial. One pesticide applicator recertification credit will be awarded for the meeting. This meeting follows a Sprayer Calibration Clinic held at the same location from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Participants will recieve 2 pesticide applicator recertification credits for attending the clinic.
Whether you are starting a new business or expanding into a new market, having a solid marketing plan is an important key to success. In this interactive workshop, you will hear about innovative and creative ways to reach new and existing customers and learn practical marketing tips from a panel of successful small and home-based business owners. Panelists will include local business owners.
Gray Public Library
Wednesdays, February thru May 6:30-7:30 pm
February 27th Design a Wind Powered Boat
March 27th Design a Pinwheel
April 24th Lift a Load Using Wind Power
May 22nd Can Wind Power produce Electricity?
Registration Information: Open to all youth ages 5-18. Youth ages 9 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Adult and teen volunteers welcome. No prior experience needed. Registration is free and includes all materials. Space is limited. Register at the library with Kathy.
SYFS Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills — Level 1
Spring 2013
Facilitation skills are not routinely learned and practiced. If you have ever been in a role that you wished you had more skills or practice for, then Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills, Level 1 is for you.
Fun, creative, and thought provoking, the SYFS, Level 1 Curriculum is a dynamic and comprehensive five-Lesson facilitation Training Series full of activities, “lecturettes” and potential aha! moments.
This training series is designed to help you
As a team member or chair, we are expected to produce results in collaboration with others. This is not always easy, and the skills of facilitation are not routinely learned or practiced to be effective in our work.
At least nine participants need to register for the class to be held.
Register online or enroll by mail (Word) (PDF).
umaine.edu/ext-community/strengthening-your-facilitation-skills/level-1
Kate McCarty, Community Educator and Master Food Preserver Volunteers will teach you how to preserve those wonderful spring treats…fiddleheads.
Ever wonder how to preserve all those great garden vegetables? University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s hands-on food preservation workshops will teach you the basics of canning and freezing, including how to use pressure canners and water bath canners to preserve pickles, jam, and vegetables. Learn from the experts. We will provide fresh produce and canning jars. For a current listing of upcoming food preserving workshops go to: http://umaine.edu/food-health/food-preservation/hands-on-workshops/
If you are a sheeSheep in barnp or goat producer and would like to gain the skills and knowledge to fight the barber pole worm (Haemonchus contorutus) in your sheep and goats, then the one day FAMACHA workshop is for you. You will learn how to use the blood color of the capillaries around the eye of the sheep or goat to determine the degree of infection. The barber pole worm is a blood sucking internal parasite that is a common cause of death and poor-doing in small ruminants.
The workshop will be presented by Dr. Thomas Settlemire & Dr. Richard Brzozowski. Participants will receive an information packet, record sheets and a FAMACHA card.
http://umaine.edu/cumberland/programs/2013-famacha-workshops/