Farm Days offers education

SIDNEY — A new activity will be featured at the 25th Annual Maine Farm Days, Aug. 24 and 25, at Rainbow Valley Farm in Sidney — the Farm Days Learning Center.

The center features mini-educational presentations, 30 minutes or less, throughout the two-day event in a separate tent where those attending can sit down and relax. Producers can get pesticide recertification credits for several of the lectures by attending two specified 30-minute sessions. Many Extension, Soil Conservation and Dairy Promotion Board staff members also will present lectures or show-and-tell presentations on food and agriculture. All presentations are free and open to the public.

The Learning Center is sponsored by the Kennebec Soil and Water Conservation District, Maine Dairy Promotion Board, Maine Dairy Industry Association, and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in cooperation with Farm Days, Inc.

Program topics Tuesday, Aug. 24, and Wednesday, Aug. 25 for pesticide recertification credit are: Pesticide Safety and Worker Protection; Protective Clothing for Handling Pesticides; Using Atrazine and Related Chemicals. Programs scheduled Tuesday only; Maine’s Nutrient Management Program; Super Snacks for Kids; The New Food Guide Pyramid; Label It Nutrition; Improve Your Barnyard with Runoff Control; Weed Control and Handling Triazine Resistant Weeds; Groundwater Protection in Relation to Herbicides; Labels and Recordkeeping for Restricted Pesticides; Managing Your Soil; Alternative Feeds for Livestock; Computer Applications on Dairy and Livestock Farms; Pest Identification in the Vegetable Garden.

Programs on Wednesday, Aug. 25, include: On Farm Composting; Kids, Food Groupies and You; What’s New on Food Labeling Laws; Fun with Dairy Foods; Pasture Pumps; and Wind Breaks.