EVENTS
Twilight Meetings
Each year, MVSFGA has two twilight meetings. A twilight meeting is hosted at a member's farm. The host provides a tour, and provides more insight into how their business works. These meetings also serve as a time for Extension to fill us in on the latest updates on their end. The first meeting happens in the spring, the second in the fall.
Spring
Twilight Meeting
June 7th, 2022
Bells Farms
Auburn
Fall
Twilight Meeting
September 8th, 2022
Highmoor Farm
The University of Maine’s Highmoor Farm will be hosting a fall twilight meeting on Sept 8 at 5:30pm. Join us to learn about current vegetable and small fruit evaluations. Trials that will be on display include artichokes, celeriac, celery, parsnips, pumpkins, radicchio, and sweet corn. We will highlight major aspects of production and what we’ve found so far. We also welcome you to bring your ideas about what kind of crops and production challenges upcoming research should address. All scale and experience levels are welcome. There is no cost to attend.
Educational Opportunities
UMaine Extension offering farm labor guidelines workshops
Orono, Maine — The University of Maine Cooperative Extension will host an online discussion on Farm Labor Guidelines on April 19 and 21.
These two programs will be led by Brian Cleasby from the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD). The April 19 session will focus on the requirements of the H-2A program. The program will cover key considerations to avoid common wage, disclosure, housing, transportation and recordkeeping-related violations at worksites where H-2A workers are employed. Links to WHD H-2A, Fair Labor Standards Act, Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Protection Act and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Field Sanitation compliance assistance resources will be shared during the webinar. The April 21 session will cover the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Key topics will include avoiding common overtime, child labor and recordkeeping-related violations in agricultural settings. The presentation will cover basic compliance principles under the act, including coverage, exemptions, minimum wage, overtime, recordkeeping and child labor requirements. A question-and- answer period will follow both presentations.
More information, including dates and registration links, is available online. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Jason Lilley, 207.781.6099; Extension.agcumberland@maine.edu