Please join us for the PFAS and Agriculture Maine Regional Meetingon November 7th, 2023 from 8am to 5:30pm at Colby College in Waterville, ME. The meeting will be followed by a colloquium at 7pm which is open to the public. The Maine Regional Meeting is free to attend, but please registerhere by October 26th to reserve your spot! We strongly encourage carpooling to the conference and riding the bus to the farm tour, as parking will be limited. Note: As November 7th is Election Day, make sure you have a plan to vote absentee if you’ll be joining us! Request a mail-in absentee ballot here, or use this resource to find your municipal clerk’s office & hours to vote absentee in person.
PFAS contamination of agricultural systems is an area of great focus in Maine as a state-wide testing program continues to identify varying levels of contamination on farms. As other states begin to grapple with PFAS contamination on farms, we must foster more collaboration across state lines and sectors to advance critical areas of research and design effective systems for response and support.
Maine Farmland Trust, the University of Maine, Michigan State University, and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service are organizing a multi-day national symposium at Michigan State University October 22-24th. PFAS researchers, policymakers, and impacted farmers from around the country will share their learnings and experiences at the in-person gathering, a portion of which will be livestreamed for the public. More information about the Michigan conference can be found here.
As a follow-up to the national symposium in Michigan, the PFAS and Agriculture Maine Regional Meeting is being organized by Colby College’s Buck Lab for Climate and Environment, Maine Farmland Trust, and the University of Maine to:
- Share key learnings from the Michigan conference;
- Build regional collaborations around research and actions initiated in Michigan;
- Explore local research efforts; and
- Bring regional speakers together to present on topics of particular importance in the Northeast.
The Maine Regional Meeting will include a tour of an impacted farm involved in on-farm research, as well as sessions on crop uptake, animal production, and soil research; health and food systems implications of PFAS contamination; and how the state of Maine is addressing PFAS contamination through policy and regulatory efforts. A working agenda can be found here.
We hope to bring together impacted farmers, researchers, policymakers, advocates, students, and agricultural organizations to deepen connections and collaborations here in the Northeast. Registration for the full-day convening is reserved for these individuals; the public is encouraged to join for the evening public colloquium.
|
