HARVEST November 2015

HARVEST: Farm and Food News From Maine and Beyond

Check back each month for a selection of articles, stories, and trends you might have missed.

We are changing the way we eat—and that’s a good thing, forcing big companies to change their supply change and at least begin to reflect the needs of farmers.

Congress members have been scored on how well they tackle food issues… keep track of where yours stands and let them know it’s important to you.

Michael Pollan’s manifesto In Defense of Food hits the big screen this December.

There’s a lot that happens between farm and plate, and some top chefs are working to sync up the two food areas through breeding, to provide more delicious food.

A mobile slaughterhouse is the latest in an effort to increase infrastructure and processing needs of Maine’s farms.

The Maine grain market is growing, but we need more producers to keep up with demand. In fact, demand for local flours is rising nationwide.

New university programs are encouraging students to go into farming in some of Maine’s most productive farmland area, Aroostook County. Maine dairies in the same region are getting help to transition to organic, demanded by more and more consumers, and potato growers are looking to build better soil.

The USDA is reallocating money to provide more resources to “new” farmers.

World trade could help redistribute food if climate disaster strikes, but it may make more sense to mitigate losses through micro changes in individual fields.

Food waste is a hot issue these days—find out what you can do to prevent it. Maine has a particularly innovative gleaning program aimed at reducing on-farm food waste.

The new way to connect farms and consumers: farm to workplace.

A few reasons to eat locally at Thanksgiving… or for your next holiday supper, now that the turkey holiday is over. Winter farmers markets are still open all across the state—find yours.

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