Mitchell Center to host talk on dealing with drought, meeting the needs of farmers, March 27

ORONO — The Sen. George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will host a speech, “Coping with drought: Matching the needs of farmers and the trust, skills and expertise of advisors” on Monday, March 27 at 3 p.m

Rachel Schattman, assistant professor of sustainable agriculture at the University of Maine School of Food and Agriculture, will be the featured speaker. In 2020–21, Schattman and her colleagues conducted two complementary investigations. In the first, farmers were asked what information, technical advice, or financial support they needed to deal with both too much and too little water. In another, they asked agricultural advisors (those who regularly provide services directly to the agricultural community) to share their perspective on what skills and knowledge are needed to help farmers solve water-related problems and whether organizations in Maine currently have the capacity to meet the needs of farmers. In this talk, Schattman will share the results of these studies. Attendees were also invited to share their thoughts on where Maine can and should invest to meet this growing challenge.

All talks at the Mitchell Center Sustainability Talks series are free and offered remotely via Zoom and in person in Norman Smith Hall 107. Remote attendance requires registration; to register and receive connection information, see event website.