University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer training in small-scale farming for market sales to military veterans and family members, and farmers with disabilities, starting in January.

"Boots-2-Bushels: Boot Camp for Market Gardeners and Farmers," features semimonthly online classes that will be held through May 24 via Zoom and weekly, hands-on fieldwork from May – September at the Kennebec Valley Community College Harold Alfond Campus, 677 Skowhegan Road, Clinton. The first online class will be held Monday, Jan. 11, from noon – 4 p.m. 

Training topics will include soil health and crop planning, seedling, vegetable and small fruit production; harvest and storage, safe food handling, marketing and farm business planning, integrated pest management, and tool and equipment maintenance and safety. Experts from UMaine Extension and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association will serve as instructors.

The $50 per person fee includes textbooks and supplies. Registration is required and can be done on the event webpage. Space is limited, and preference will be given to veterans and family members and farmers with disabilities. Participants who attend 85% of classes and field work, will earn a certificate of completion and letter of recommendation. Participants may harvest weekly shares of produce grown. 

For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Anne Devin, 207.991.2651; anne.devin@maine.edu. More information is also available on the program website. This program is made possible through the support of UMaine Extension, Maine AgrAbility, MOGFA and Farm Credit East.

University of Maine Cooperative Extension:

As a trusted resource for over 100 years, University of Maine Cooperative Extension has supported UMaine's land and sea grant public education role by conducting community-driven, research-based programs in every Maine county. UMaine Extension helps support, sustain and grow the food-based economy. It is the only entity in our state that touches every aspect of the Maine Food System, where policy, research, production, processing, commerce, nutrition, and food security and safety are integral and interrelated. UMaine Extension also conducts the most successful out-of-school youth educational program in Maine through 4-H.

 
About the University of Maine:
The University of Maine, founded in Orono in 1865, is the state's land grant, sea grant and space grant university. It is located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation. As Maine's flagship public university, UMaine has a statewide mission of teaching, research and economic development, and community service. UMaine is the state's only public research university and among the most comprehensive higher education institutions in the Northeast. It attracts students from all 50 states and more than 75 countries. UMaine currently enrolls 11,741 undergraduate and graduate students who have opportunities to participate in groundbreaking research with world-class scholars. UMaine offers more than 100 degree programs through which students can earn master's, doctoral or professional science master's degrees, as well as graduate certificates. The university promotes environmental stewardship, with substantial efforts campuswide to conserve energy, recycle and adhere to green building standards in new construction. For more information about UMaine, visit umaine.edu.