The maine agricultural and forest experiment station has been conducting research for maine and its people for over 140 years

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the University of Maine System $1,562,304 on October 1, 2025, under the Hatch Act program (CFDA 10.203) to support fundamental and applied agricultural research conducted by the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station. The award funds research on Maine's high-value crop sectors, including innovative pest management strategies, pollinator activity encouragement, and new variety development in blueberries and potatoes. The station also conducts multistate research addressing regional agricultural challenges including PFAS mitigation, horticultural sustainability, dairy cow reproductive health, fruit crop loss reduction, soil health improvement through microbial activity, and pathogen elimination in horse manure. Funds support invasive pest population reduction, tree marketability enhancement, and natural resource sector development across Maine's rural communities. Administrative funds support research program administration, financial recordkeeping, and regulatory compliance activities. The Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station operates 21 active Hatch Multistate projects in coordination with the Multistate Activities Committee of AgInnovation Northeast. Work is performed in Orono, Maine, with a period of performance running through September 30, 2027. The Hatch Act program assists State Agricultural Experiment Stations in conducting research across agriculture, natural resources, forests, aquaculture, and related domains, with at least 25 percent of funds directed to multistate collaborative projects.

Annual appropriations under the hatch multistate, in combination with state appropriated funding, allow faculty to conduct fundamental and applied research to address issues and develop opportunities for the people of maine and the nation. The research capacity provided by base funding leverages additional funding from competitive grants and contracts and industry support. Faculty at the university of maine are affiliated with 21 unique, active hatch multistate projects. Specifically, hatch multistate funds are used to support research on maine's most profitable agriculture industries, blueberries and potatoes, that explore innovative pest management strategies, encourage pollinator activity, and develop new varieties and more efficient breeding methods. Our multistate research also explores regional agriculture issues including mitigating PFAS, sustainability of horticultural practices, improving reproductive health of dairy cows, reducing losses in fruit crops, improving soil health through microbial activity and eliminating harmful microbes in horse manure. Maine is a leader in many natural resource sectors and our participation in multistate research programs that redu CE invasive pest populations, encourage the growth of highly marketable trees, and promote healthy residents in economically stable rural communities provide regional benefits. The maine agricultural and forest experiment station will use administrative hatch multistate funds to support the research program administration and financial recordkeeping and reporting activities required by the federal regulations that govern the expenditure of hatch multistate funds. The station director facilitates development of new hatch multistate projects in coordination with the multistate activities committee of aginnovation northeast, approves new projects, and monitors all approved projects including integrated grants and contracts. An allotment of hatch multistate funds will be made available to pay expenditures of a general administrative nature, including partial funding for salaries, travel, and other items related to planning, coordination, oversight, reporting, and compliance of the hatch multistate agricultural research program of the maine agricultural and forest experiment station.