TAKE ACTION ON PFAS TODAY!
We anticipate votes on these bills in the coming weeks, maybe even as soon as Thursday, April 7.
LD 1875 – Treating Effluent From State-owned Landfills. This bill has passed the House and Senate and now is under consideration by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee as it is the committee that evaluates funding options for bills with fiscal notes attached to them. This is a critical piece of legislation to help protect Maine’s water from PFAS contamination. It is an environmental justice initiative as leachate from state-owned/Casella-operated Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town is released into the Penobscot River, which the Penobscot Nation relies on for sustenance.
LD 1911 – Banning Sludge Spreading On Farmland. This bill is likely to come up for votes in the House and Senate this week. Please urge your legislators to support the future of Maine’s food and agriculture system by protecting our farms from forever chemicals. Turn off the PFAS tap and stop contaminating Maine’s precious agricultural resources. Farmers need clean soil amendments for fertility, not PFAS-contaminated sludge.
LD 2013 – Providing Financial Support For Farmers Dealing With PFAS Contamination. The Appropriations and Financials Affairs Committee is considering the bill’s call for a $100 million farmer support fund. Nine Maine farms already are dealing with extremely high levels of PFAS contamination and have pulled products from the market. Hundreds more farms await water and soil testing, and many neighboring residents may be at risk as well. While $100 million is a lot of money, Maine has a responsibility to help the farmers harmed by the state-sanctioned practice of sludge spreading. We will need a lot more than $100 million in the long run. We are urging AFA Committee members to procure the full $100 million for Maine farmers.
LD 2019 – Eliminating PFAS In Pesticides. Just as we’re advocating for soil fertility alternatives to PFAS-contaminated sludge, we’re calling for an end to application of PFAS pesticides on Maine farmland. The minority report on this bill lays out a measured process to: gain information about forever chemicals in pesticides — whether as active ingredients, adjuvants, or contaminants; remove a tiny portion of the PFAS pesticides (6 out of 1,600) from the marketplace now; give Maine’s Board of Pesticides Control (BPC) the same authorization that the Department of Environmental Protection has to remove other PFAS pesticide products from the marketplace by 2030; and authorize the BPC to regulate fluorinated containers that may leach PFAS into pesticides.
We have more apples coming in for next week's delivery! Grab some Northern Spy apples from the Apple Farm.
Last week to grab treats in time for Easter! We still have a few applewood smoked hams, coppa steaks, pork chops, liquid gold cooking fat, Springdale Farm Easter themed gift boxes and waxed cheddar pieces, Ragged Coast Chocolate Bark Sampler plus all of our other specialty products that pack nicely into a gift basket . . . don't forget the eggs for decorating!
Haven’t had your fill of Maine maple syrup yet, have you? Is that even possible? Try it another way by adding Organic Maple Yogurt from The Milkhouse to your Farm Box this week! The combination of whole Jersey milk with just the right touch of maple sweetness is truly an experience to behold–a locavore’s breakfast or dessert dream.
Meet your farmer – The Milkhouse
The Milkhouse is one of many small-scale, pasture-based sustainable dairies and creameries represented in our roster of grocery options. Cait, Andy, and their talented crew tend the herd, steward pastures, and produce hundreds of gallons of top-quality Jersey milk products every week. Their yogurt is just two ingredients: whole organic unpasteurized milk and live active cultures. Find their original, blueberry, maple, and greek yogurt and whey-fed meats throughout the year when you customize your Daybreak Farm Box! The Milkhouse’s famous yogurts is an innovation born from adversity. About four years ago, when The Milkhouse was dropped from a large organic milk bottling company, they quickly worked to expand their own yogurt production and bottling, which then got picked up by dozens of retailers throughout the state. One of many stories to remember of the brilliance and resilience of Maine farmers.
