UMaine News » Cooperative Extension

News Report Features Extension’s Senior Companions

bdoane — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:38:51 +0000

The Channel 7 (WVII) May 23 evening news report featured the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Senior Companion Program, which matches older volunteers with elders, many of whom are living at home alone, to provide companionship, conversation and camaraderie.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Horticulturist Stack in Toxic Giant Hogweed TV Report

bdoane — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:38:07 +0000

University of Maine Cooperative Extension professor and ornamental horticulturist Lois Berg Stack was interviewed for a May 23 Channel 7 (WVII) news report how to handle giant hogweed, a large, attractive plant with a chemical in its sap that burns the skin when exposed to sunlight. State horticulturists suggest eradicating the weed, but only after taking protective measures.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Extension Educators Attend Blaine House Gardening Event

bdoane — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:33:05 +0000

Ellen Libby, University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator in Knox and Lincoln counties overseeing 4-H Youth Development and Healthy Lifestyles programs, and UMaine Extension educator Caragh Fitzgerald this week participated at the invitation of the Maine Commissioner of Agriculture in an event at the Blaine House governor’s mansion. The event highlighted school gardens and Libby’s role as the UMaine Extension contact for FoodCorps and as a board member of Maine School Garden Network. Fitzgerald leads several master gardener volunteers who work on gardens at the Blaine House.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Extension Expert Update on Pest Insects, Blight Outlook

jon — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:40:56 +0000

Jim Dill, University of Maine Cooperative Extension professor of biological sciences and pest management specialist, is available to discuss the status of several seasonal insect pests, including mosquitoes, black flies and a new arrival in Maine, the spotted wing drosophila, a fruit fly that threatens soft fruit and vegetable crops.

Also know as the Asian fruit fly, the spotted wing drosophila was captured for the first time in Maine last fall. The fly, about the size of the little fruit flies that buzz around bananas, arrived on the West Coast four years ago and in that short of time made it across the country.

“It can be a very serious pest of small fruits, especially late season strawberries, raspberries and blueberries,” Dill says. “Unlike its cousin, which likes those over-ripe bananas or other fruit, this new pest will attack ripening fruit in the fields. We are working on a trapping and mapping system to see where they are in Maine.”

Dill can also discuss early season mosquitoes, which are just beginning to show. These snow-pool or snowmelt mosquitoes, as they are called, Dill says, are late this year due to lack of snow and early spring rains. In the last couple of weeks, however, rain has started filling in depressions and other areas where last season’s mosquito eggs wait for water to cover them, which enables them to hatch. Black fly females are starting to show up and are biting; males show up earlier than the females.

Dill also can recommend management methods for white grubs, which are destroying lawns in many parts of Maine, and late blight, which can devastate tomato and potato crops.

Contact: Jim Dill, (207) 581-3879; George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Minnesota Newspaper Features Maple Grading School

bdoane — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:27:09 +0000

Minnesota’s St. Cloud Times carried a feature story about the Maple Grading School recently held at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minn. The Maple Grading School, an annual educational event on the production and grading of maple syrup, is coordinated by University of Maine Cooperative Extension educator Kathy Hopkins in the Skowhegan Extension office, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, and the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension. The Minnesota Maple Syrup Producers Association sponsored the event.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Extension Experts Interviewed for Honeybee Article

bdoane — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:21:04 +0000

University of Maine Cooperative Extension professor and blueberry specialist David Yarborough and UMaine Extension entomology specialist Frank Drummond, who holds a joint appointment with UMaine’s School of Biology and Ecology, were interviewed for a Bangor Daily News article about the value of bees for pollinating Maine’s wild blueberry and fruit crops. Drummond has been leading a national $3.3 million grant-funded consortium to study native bee populations and biological threats to them. Growers depend upon native and imported honeybees and bumble bees to pollinate crops.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Extension Specialist Dill Advises on White Grub Treatment

jon — Tue, 15 May 2012 17:53:55 +0000

Lawn-killing white grubs are being reported in outbreaks in Old Town, Orono and surrounding communities, and now is the time to take preventative measures for the summer and even next year, says Jim Dill, University of Maine Cooperative Extension pest management specialist and professor of biological sciences.

Dill is available at (207) 581-3879 to discuss various lawn treatment options, including which pesticides property owners have available to them and when lawns and gardens should be treated for best results.

“The situation is that a lot of places got clobbered this year in the Old Town and Orono area,” Dill says, who adds that his College Avenue office receives an average of four calls a day from people looking for advice. “Now is the time you ought to be deciding what to do for the summer.”

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Handley in Mother Nature Network Strawberries Article

bdoane — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:23:52 +0000

University of Maine Cooperative Extension small fruit and vegetable specialist David Handley was interviewed for an article in Mother Nature Network about the health benefits of strawberries. Handley cited the high levels of potassium and folate in the berries.

Contact: George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

Extension Posts May Gardening Tips Information

bdoane — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:33:03 +0000

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension has posted online the May 2012 issue of Maine Home Garden News. Articles are written by UMaine Extension specialists, educators, and horticulture professionals, as well as master gardener volunteers in Maine. Topics, including how-to videos, cover gardening preparations best suited for May, garden planning, composting, soil temperatures, garden placement do’s and don’ts, and fertilization and lawn care. The monthly online Maine Home Garden News was created in response to increasing requests for information on gardening and timely, seasonal tips, and research-based articles on all aspects of gardening. UMaine Extension Professor Richard Brzozowski serves as editor.

Contact: George Manlove, (207)581-3756

Study Finds Maine’s Golf Industry Generated $270 Million in 2011

Caroline Moore — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:52:15 +0000

Activity at Maine’s 144 golf courses, along with tourism-related spending by out-of-state golfers, generated a $270 million statewide economic contribution in 2011, according to research by University of Maine economists Todd Gabe and James McConnon.

Gabe and McConnon, who conducted a similar study 11 years ago, recently calculated that the golf industry’s $270 million economic contribution, which includes the expenditures by golfers and related multiplier effects, support 4,935 full- and part-time jobs in Maine, which provided $90 million in labor income.

Study results are based on surveys of Maine golf courses conducted at the end of the 2011 golf season, as well as visitor spending figures from the Maine Office of Tourism. The study was funded by the Maine State Golf Association and Golf Maine.

“Golf ranks right up there with activities such as hunting, fishing, skiing and snowmobiling in terms of participation by visitors to Maine,” says Gabe, a professor of economics. “The golf courses told us that 31 percent of their players are from outside of Maine, which is almost identical to the out-of-state golfer estimate from our 2001 study.”

Maine’s golf courses indicated that poor weather, the low number of people playing golf, and competition from other courses and activities are some of the biggest challenges facing the golf industry.

“The recent global recession has hit the golf industry hard, reducing golfer participation in the United States,” says McConnon, a UMaine Extension specialist and professor of economics. “As we come out of the recession, it’s important that golf courses develop and implement creative and innovative marketing strategies to increase the participation of both resident and non-resident golfers.”

The study found, based on figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Golf Foundation, Maine ranks 32nd nationally in terms of the statewide demographics for playing golf.

“It’s noteworthy that the many of the states with the best demographics for golf are located in Maine’s primary tourism market,” Gabe adds. “Places such as Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Maryland have some of the most favorable population demographics for playing golf, which explains why so many tourists in Maine are likely to hit the links.”

Nancy Storey, executive director of the Maine State Golf Association, one of the project’s sponsors, says, “We in the golf business know that it is an important part of the Maine economy, but this study helps us quantify the impact of golf in the state.

“Along with the sport’s large impact on the state economy,” she notes, “the study shows that Maine’s golf courses (also) made about $1.8 million in charitable donations in 2011.”

“Despite its draw,” Storey says, “golf has been under-recognized as a major contributor to Maine’s tourism industry. Golfing tourists are traditionally more affluent, older and willing to spend money on luxury accommodations and dining, meaning that their economic contribution per person is significant. We’re hoping that this study will make people realize how valuable golf really is here in Maine, despite the fact that we essentially have the shortest golf season in the country.”

The report is available at the School of Economics Faculty and Staff Research and Publications website.

Contact: Todd Gabe, (207) 581-3307; James McConnon, (207) 581-3165