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Tool Pool

Farmers Share Farm Machinery

Instead of buying or renting expensive specialized machinery, farmers in Maine can now join a “lending library” of farm tools on short-term loan by using the Shared-Use Farm Equipment Pool, a partnership between the Maine Farmland Trust (MFT) and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. There are already equipment co-ops and joint machinery ownerships around the country; now the sharing economy being established in urban areas seems to be catching on in rural America, too.

For a $100 annual fee, members can gain access to a seedbed cultivator, two-shank sub-soiler, plastic mulch layer, tine weeder, and strip and ridge tillers. The 1,200-pound mulch layer, for instance, retails for more than $2,000. Each piece is undeniably useful, but pricey, especially given the cost per use. Farmers have a three-day window to use the tools.

The pool came about when Mike Gold, an MFT staff member, saw the need to lower costs for both new and seasoned farmers. Currently, most of the tool pool members are newer vegetable farmers, but Gold says there’s appeal for established land stewards, too: “They see the opportunity to use that one piece of equipment that they may only need once a year or once every few years.”

Source: ModernFarmer.com

Global Briefs
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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