Ag research grant on tap for UMaine
Photo/David A. Rodgers
Jim Amaral, owner of Borealis Breads
Officials from the University of Maine will join entrepreneur Jim Amaral and dignitaries from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others in a ceremony tomorrow announcing a grant to the university for its organic agricultural research program.
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan will announce the grant in Portland, joined by Ellen Mallory, a sustainable agriculture specialist from the University of Maine. Although the amount of the grant won't be disclosed until tomorrow, a USDA spokesman says it is one of the larger grants being awarded nationally, as part of the USDA's Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative under the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Amaral, owner of Borealis Breads in Portland, is hosting the event as a benefactor of USDA-funded research, according to a USDA release. He has been working with university researchers on a new wheat-growing project by conducting standardized baking tests to evaluate the quality and taste of the different varieties of wheat, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Merrigan has been promoting the USDA's new "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food" initiative to help develop local and regional food systems and spur economic opportunity. Among its initiatives are supporting local farmers and community food groups; strengthening rural communities; enhancing direct marketing and farmers' promotion programs; promoting healthy eating; protecting natural resources; and helping schools connect with locally grown foods, according to a USDA press release.
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