#smallfarms — Public Fediverse posts

Not just Smiling Hill Farm, other #MaineFarms are feeling the effects of the #Drought!

#SevereDrought causing concern for #Maine farmers

Some farmers say they are down at least 30% and are either making adjustments, or looking ahead to next season

Sep 17, 2025
Jackie Mundry, Reporter

TURNER, Maine — "Whether it's beef, apples, or corn, farmers in Maine are having to cut corners or make other plans because we haven't seen enough rain this year.

" 'You need at least one inch of rain to grow a good crop,' Russ Black of Black Acre Farm said.

"He typically saves his second crop of hay to feed his cows over the winter, but he's already using it because the grass hasn't grown fast enough for hay. [Smiling Hill Farm is having the same problem.]

" 'We haven't seen it this dry, so it's definitely a year to stand out,' Jared Hood of Hood Farm said.

"Hood grows corn and sells it to dairy farmers to feed their cows. He says the corn stalks are typically 10-12 feet tall, but right now some are less than 5 feet.

" 'We have some irrigation up here, but we can't irrigate it all. We're on top of a hill,' Jeff Timberlake of Ricker Hill Orchard said.

"Timberlake added that despite the lack of rain, there will still be plenty of apples at the orchard's U-Pick.

"He's hoping for rain not just for the rest of apple season but for next year's apples because the flowers for that are growing now.

"Ricker Hill Farm and Hood Farm are down at least 30-60%

" 'This apple right now is about an inch and a quarter. It's dehydrated. It's shriveled up,' Timberlake said, showing off his apples.

"Black told Maine's Total Coverage he hasn't seen it this dry since the early 2000s; at that time, he had to make adjustments.

" 'I sold some cows. I had to buy a lot of feed. You know, I might have to buy feed this year if I can find it,' he said.

"Black said he hopes we get more rain in the next four weeks, while Timberlake and Hood are looking ahead to next year."

Source:
https://www.wmtw.com/article/severe-drought-causing-concern-maine-farmers/65997555

#MaineDrought #Drought #NewEnglandDrought
#ClimateChange #SmallFarms #MaineFarms

Saw a piece about this on the local news...

#SmilingHillFarm (post from FB): "Because of the drought, we have been moving our cows around to different pastures… in search of green grass. We cannot recall the last time the cows grazed in the shadow of our Big Red Barn. The fields are just that dry… and not growing fast enough to sustain them. 😢 "

#MaineDrought #Drought #NewEnglandDrought #ClimateChange #SmallFarms #FamilyFarms #MaineFarms

#SmallFarms and #FoodBanks are Caught Off Guard by #SpendingCuts

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/business/farmers-food-bank-budget-cuts.html

NOT JUST MAINE! #USDA ending local purchasing programs for #Maine #FoodBanks and #schools

#MainePublic | By Nicole Ogrysko
Published March 12, 2025

"The U.S. Department of Agriculture is ending two national programs that help food banks and schools in Maine — and around the country — purchase produce from local farmers.

"USDA told Maine officials and partners late last week that it has terminated the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. It helped #GoodShepherd Food Bank buy produce from about 100 Maine farmers, which is then distributed to local food banks around the state.

"'That program is incredibly important to the state of Maine, both in food today — food that we source and distribute today — and in food tomorrow, which is the economic viability for those 100 #farmers and for our partner agencies to experience fresh, nutritious produce," said Good Shepherd President Heather Paquette.

"At the same time, Paquette said the food bank recently learned that USDA will stop delivering about 1 million pounds of food through the Emergency Food Assistance Program to Maine. Those deliveries are on hold for Good Shepherd — and food banks around the country — through at least June.

"Paquette said the USDA delivery represented about 20% of food that Good Shepherd moves around the state.

"The cuts — both to government food deliveries and to funds that Good Shepherd used to buy local produce — are concerning, Paquette said, because more Mainers are experiencing #FoodInsecurity.

"Our need is up every year," she said. 'This year we distributed 10% more food cases than we distributed the year before that, and that year was 10% over the [prior] year. So we're experiencing double-digit need increase in the state of Maine.'

"A spokesperson for the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry said the state received about $1.3 million for the Local Food Purchase Assistance program.

"USDA has also terminated the Local Food for Schools program, which provided more than $720,000 last year to Maine schools. Schools used those funds to buy food directly from local farmers to serve in their cafeterias.

"The program provided a big boost to the state's farmers, because more than 100,000 students eat at Maine schools every day, said Anna Korsen of the food security non-profit Full Plates Full Potential.

"'That has a huge impact on local economies, on #SmallFarms, and it's just better for kids," she said. 'The food's healthier, they're getting fresh, local foods in the school cafeteria.'

"A spokesperson for Maine's Department of Education said the state was expected to receive nearly $2.8 million for the Local #FoodForSchools program over the next three years. The funding was supposed to be disbursed later this spring.

"Maine still has a statewide local food purchasing program for schools. But Korsen said the federal program provided more purchasing power for Maine schools. In 2023 before Maine received federal #LFS funding, schools in the Pine Tree State spent just more than $168,000 on local food, Korsen said.

"These USDA programmatic cuts are separate from those that the department is making at the University of Maine System [which were just reversed]. And unlike those impacting UMaine, the termination of USDA's local purchasing programs affects food banks and schools around the country."

https://www.mainepublic.org/business-and-economy/2025-03-12/usda-ending-local-purchasing-programs-for-maine-food-banks-and-schools
#KillThePoor #USPol #MadKingTrump #RESIST! #FoodIsLife #WorkingPoor #SNAP #SaveTheFarms

Our yak, Daisy, and her two week old calf.

#PhotoMonday #FotoMontag #Yaks #SmallFarms #Photography #FarmPhotography #Oregon

Our first yak calf of the season

#SilentSunday #Sunday #Yaks #Cows #CowsofMastodon #Bovines #SmallFarms #Oregon #Agriculture #Animals