The Maine Department of Education Child Nutrition Program is excited to announce the launch of Maine’s Harvest of the Month (HOM) Program, piloting in Spring of 2019. The program is a nationwide marketing campaign promoting the use of seasonally available, local products in schools, institutions, Read More »
Action Alert Items
Comment Period Opens for Proposed Rule to Amend the National List for Crops + Handling
On February 15, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register to amend the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances for crops and handling based on April 2018 recommendations from the National Organic Standards Board. This proposed rule Read More »
Hearing on Meat Labeling Bill (LD 351) Scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 12
On February 12 at 1 p.m. at the Cross Building in Augusta, the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry will hear a bill addressing the large of amount of meat being advertised falsely as “local” or “Maine-raised” when the animals actually were produced Read More »
Take Action to Save the Organic Certification Cost-Share Program
As the Agriculture Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives drafts language for the next Farm Bill, it is considering sweeping cuts to programs that support organic agriculture. One dire threat is significantly reducing, and possibly eliminating, the cost-share program for certified organic growers and Read More »
Organic Certification: A Critical Link in the Supply Chain
As the demand for organic food and products in the United States has grown dramatically over the last 10 years, so has the complexity of organic supply chains. The supply chain, domestically and internationally, now involves a series of complex transactions with businesses that grow, handle, Read More »
More time proposed for produce water standards
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing extending compliance deadlines on Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) provisions for produce water standards. Finalized in 2015, the water standards aim at keeping deadly pathogens like E. coli 0157:H7 out of water used to grow crops by Read More »
Mainers Urged to Sign Up for Free Disposal of Unusable Pesticides
AUGUSTA— This October, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) Board of Pesticides Control (BPC) will team up with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to help Mainers dispose of unusable and waste pesticides. The Obsolete Pesticides Collection Program, jointly sponsored by Read More »