In response to the educational needs of new farmers, a
group of agencies have joined forces to develop a comprehensive workshop series
to be held every Tuesday beginning January 31 and ending March 13, 2012.
In case of a storm event requiring a cancellation, the workshop will be held the
next day at the same time. A new farmer is considered as one in the
farming business less than 10 years or haven't started yet.
Partial funding for this endeavor has been provided from the Conservation
Technical Assistance funding pool by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service.
There will be
7 (seven) workshops. Registering for all seven will cost $50 with a
maximum of 2 per farm allowed to attend for this fee. The cost is $15 for
those interested in attending a full day workshop. The cost is $10 for
those interested in attending an evening workshop. To see the workshop series
dates, locations and topics,
click here.
Androscoggin Valley Soil and Water Conservation is
partnering with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, University of
Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine Department of Agriculture and Maine
Department of Conservation. All partners are equal opportunity employers
and program providers. In addition to resource specialists from government
agencies, local farmers, organizations and business representatives will
participate in the workshops. Special benefits for workshop attendees will
include credits or a certification exam offered where possible, coffee break
refreshments, lunch at two of the full day workshops, on-site full day
workshop at a local farm will be held on the last day, a resource notebook for
those registering for all seven workshops, question and answer sessions and
opportunities to network.
It is important to secure your seat and resource
information by registering as early as possible. Registrations must be
received by January 10, 2012. Pre-registration is required.
Click here
for the Registration Form. If you have any special needs in order to
attend please contact Jane Heikkinen at (207) 753-9400 ext 400.
Forestry Workshops for 2011
How Forestry Tax Laws and Practice Impact the Realtor's
Clients was offered
Tree Growth Tax Law,
Liquidation Harvesting, and the Forest Practices Act can all have
significant financial impacts on real estate transactions in Maine.
This
free course provided background information about forestry in Maine,
a basic understanding of all three laws, and detailed information on how
these laws can potentially affect real estate transactions.
This
course was approved by the Maine Real Estate Commission for 3 credit hours of
continuing education. We offered the course in two locations.
June
13th, Bath City Hall, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
June 14th,
Auburn City Hall, 9:00 to noon (parking on 4th and 5th level of parking
garage, meeting room on 2nd floor.
- Are you ready to comply with recent legislation regulating
soil disturbance work within 250 feet of waterbodies, that in the future, will
require you to have a DEP certified individual supervising the work?
If you aren’t, the Maine Nonpoint Source Training and
Resource Center urges you to attend a Basic and
Advanced training session in Erosion and Sediment Control
Practices this year. The legislation takes effect on
January 1
st,
2013 and requires any contractor disturbing more than one cubic yard of soil in
the shoreland zone
to have the work supervised by an individual certified by DEP in
Erosion Control Practices. We anticipate that
with current staffing levels we may not be able to get everyone
affected by the legislation certified, if
individuals wait until 2011 or 2012 to comply. Besides, you will
also miss out on the benefits provided by the
program including discounts on erosion control products,
accelerated permitting and free advertising.
The program will include lunch, refreshments, and a manual that
is yours to keep. By attending a basic and
advanced session you qualify to become Certified by the DEP in
Erosion and Sediment Control Practices. You
will also learn about new state of the art erosion control
techniques as well as ways to save time and money on
your construction projects.
The workshop in Bath was great and the room was filled to
capacity.
2009 Workshops Offered
MARKETING CARBON CREDITS FOR AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY
Click
here
to read a press release about this meeting.The meeting was held on Thursday, June 18 at Fort
Western in Augusta, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Click on any of the three
presentations below:
R. Neil Sampson, the featured speaker, is
technical advisor to the National Carbon Offset Coalition (NCOC), a career
conservationist, private consultant and author/editor of numerous publications.
Recent work, published by the Global Institute for Sustainable Forestry at Yale
University, is entitled “Dynamic Models of Land Use
Change in Northeastern USA,” done in collaboration
with Mary Tyrrell of Yale and Myrna Hall of SUNY. His latest book "With One
Voice" published by Wheatmark(R), was announced at the meeting in Augusta.
PowerPoint presentations given at
workshops:
Click
here (pdf) to view the presentation given by A.J.
Ballard from Efficiency Maine at the Farm Energy Conservation Workshop held on
October 23, 2008.
Click
here (pdf) to view the presentation given by
Todd Parker from the Delta Institute at the Delta Institute Seminar for Forest
and Grassland Management for Carbon Credits held on November 10, 2008.
Workshops for
gravel road maintenance and Front Runner Operation have been offered in past
years.
Funding to support this training is questionable at this time. Watch
for further announcements.
Below are photos from an unpaved road maintenance workshop on
how and why to use Front Runner
Those needing gravel road maintenance may call Dan Landerville of Greene at
946-4597, a certified Front Runner operator. He will provide this service
for a fee.
Planned Training Sessions:
Contact the Conservation District Office for registration information at
207-753-9400 ext 400
