Fish Waste Utilization Project

• 2002 annual report

Commodities

• Agronomic: oats, potatoes, rye, grass (misc. perennial), hay
• Fruits: melons, berries (strawberries)
• Vegetables: asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucurbits, eggplant, garlic, greens (leafy), onions, parsnips, peas (culinary), peppers, rutabagas, sweet corn, tomatoes, turnips, brussel sprouts
• Additional Plants: herbs, ornamentals
• Animals: bees, poultry, swine

Practices

• Animal Production: manure management, feed/forage
• Crop Production: biological inoculants, cover crops, double cropping, multiple cropping, nutrient cycling, organic fertilizers
• Education and Training: demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research, technical assistance
• Farm Business Management: whole farm planning, new enterprise development, community-supported agriculture, cooperatives, budgets/cost and returns, marketing management, agricultural finance
• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, hedges - grass, grass waterways, soil stabilization, wetlands, wildlife
• Pest Management: biological control, competition, compost extracts, economic threshold, flame, integrated pest management, mulches - killed, mulches - living, physical control, mulching - plastic, cultivation, prevention, row covers (for pests), smother crops, traps, mulching - vegetative, weed ecology
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management, integrated crop and livestock systems
• Soil Management: earthworms, green manures, organic matter, soil analysis, composting, nutrient mineralization, soil quality/health
• Sustainable Communities: partnerships, sustainability measures

Fisheries in Maine need to recycle their waste, and the goal is to make these wastes available to farmers as an organic source of nitrogen. The farmer will organize farm deliveries, explore the best direct application rates through trials on seven farms, evaluate the possibilities of composting, and look at the overall costs, benefits, equipment requirements, and regulatory issues. Results will be presented at producer association gatherings, through newsletters, and through extension.