Climate and Agriculture Network featured in Kennebec Journal
At the Maine Agricultural Trades Show, the Kennebec Journal reported several University of Maine faculty who are members of the Maine Climate and Agriculture Network spoke with farmers about the likelihood of unpredictable weather patterns in the coming years and what they can do to be prepared. “We’re going to have extreme weather conditions one way or the other,” said Richard Kersbergen, a forage and dairy specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. Kersbergen advised farmers to diversify their crops and add more organic matter to soils. Sean Birkel, a professor with UMaine’s Climate Change Institute and the Maine state climatologist, noted that overall annual precipitation is on the rise, despite last year’s severe drought. And Erin Roche, the crop insurance education program manager at UMaine Extension, advised farmers to get crop insurance, if they don’t already have it. “It’s up to farmers to really plan for all types of weather and have some sort of contingency plan,” Roche said