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Wolfe’s Neck Center (WNC) is seeking to transform our relationship with food and farming for a healthier planet. To help achieve this, WNC is researching soil carbon sequestration as a way to reduce agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions and impact on…
As the growing season winds down at Wolfe’s Neck Center, we asked the apprentices in our Fruit and Vegetable Production Farmer Training Program to reflect on their experiences here. This six month, on-farm training program covers all aspects of organic fruit and vegetable crop production with a focus on regenerative agriculture techniques and includes classroom time and site visits to other farms. Educating and inspiring the next generation of leaders to shape our local and global food system is at the heart of our mission, and this year’s crew is leaving here with renewed commitment, hands on experience and a passion for agriculture.
Earlier this year, our cows here at Wolfe’s Neck Center were part of a research initiative to fight climate change. Half of our milking herd were given a local seaweed variety in their diet to measure the impacts of that local seaweed on the amount of methane the cow produces. WNC and project partners will be continuing this work over the next 5 years!
Our cows got some new bling! The SenseHub Dairy activity monitors give our dairy team real-time updates and measurements, helping them to track both cow and herd health as closely as possible. The dairy team uses the monitors to record the herd’s daily movements across Wolfe’s Neck’s pastures, track their dairy production, notify best breeding time for each cow, monitor their digestion, and observe overall health measurements like respiration.
Wolfe’s Neck Center was disappointed to learn of Danone North America’s decision to end the contracts of 89 organic milk producers in New England, including 14 family farms in Maine. Danone, which operates the Horizon Organic brand, recently decided to move away from New England as part of a cost-cutting consolidation. This blow will have devasting effects on Maine’s organic dairy sector, as well as other economic implications across the region.
This spring, we welcomed two new faces to the Wolfe’s Neck dairy team. Kate Sabino is part of the dairy apprentice program, while Ursula Murray-Bozeman joins us as an intern. Learn more about them…
You have likely heard the term regenerative agriculture and while it may seem new like a new buzzword, regenerative farming practices have been around for thousands of years. In many ways, it is a return to the way farming used to be, and is focused on restoring soils that have been degraded by the industrial agricultural system. Its methods promote healthier ecosystems by rebuilding soil organic matter.
Watch as our Research Coordinator and UMaine Cooperative Extension Professor go through a test plot of warm seasonal annuals planted in June. This study is to assess how warm season annuals could be integrated into a dairy grazing system in the Northeast. They discuss the different forages, why they’re important in a dairy system, and how they can be used in Northeast climates.
Tufts grad students Cora and Simone spent two months at Wolfe’s Neck Center assisting with on-farm research projects, ranging from collecting soil samples, to inputting dairy operations data into an online record keeping platform, and more. They walked out to pasture one last time to reflect on all they learned during a summer spent contributing to the health of a regenerative farm system.