DAPNET Forums Archive › Forums › Community of Interest › Events › Low Impact Forestry Events in Maine
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LongViewFarm.
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- June 13, 2012 at 1:03 pm #43678
Andy McEvoy
ParticipantHi all –
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardener’s Assoc. (MOFGA) is host to the Low Impact Forestry Project. In the past we have had lots of DAP members attend our events, so I wanted to let you all know about some events coming up later this summer and autumn. August 25th we will host a “Scoot Building and Repair” workshop at Webb Family Farm in Pittston, ME. Students will work in small groups with instructors to build scoots from the ground up. This workshop will be led by several generations of horse loggers with a huge collective experience when it comes to outfitting a scoot for the woods.
In November we will host our annual LIF Level I workshop where students will get a crash course in basic forestry, operating small machinery,working with draft animals, and other forestry-related topics. This is a one-of-a-kind event so check out the details for all these workshops at the LIF Events Page: http://mofga.org/Default.aspx?tabid=297. Every participant takes a one-day introduction to LIF principles that includes site visits to different types of forests and logging operations. The rest of the weekend is devoted to hands-on, skills based learning in small groups with highly experienced instructors.
Registration for these events fills up fast so sign up early if you can!
Don’t hesitate to write with any questions or suggestions: amcevoy@mofga.org. I look forward to seeing lots of DAP folks at future LIF events. Thanks!
June 13, 2012 at 3:09 pm #73198LongViewFarm
ParticipantLast year I was told I needed to have my horses “Vetted” before I could bring them to LIF in November. I’ve been before and want to come again, with my horses. Can you tell me where and how I can get them vetted?
I was told this is a look over by a mofga individual, not vetting by a veterinarian.
thanks.June 13, 2012 at 3:54 pm #73196dominiquer60
ModeratorJay,
Generally to attend most equine competitions or events, one must have each horse current on their rabies vaccination and have an up to date coggins test “The coggins test is a blood test used to diagnose the disease Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) sometimes called swamp fever. EIA is a viral disease of horses and other Equidae such as ponies, mules, and donkeys. Once infected, the animal is infected for life. There is no effective vaccine and no known cure.” Some states require a coggins test to be within 2 years of the event, but when going out of state it is generally required to be within one year. This test has done a lot to decrease the numbers of EIA cases, it used to be a huge problem. Often when going out of state, the state that you are traveling to will require you to have an interstate health certificate where the vet signs off that you are up to date on the rabies and coggins and that the animal(s) look to be in fine health. It is often required that these certificates be done within the 30 days prior to travel.
This may seem like a lot, but for larger competitions when you have hundreds or thousands of animals gathering you can see that such an event can be a great avenue to spread infectious diseases very fast, but it only takes 2 animals to spread disease to begin with.
June 13, 2012 at 4:16 pm #73194Jim Ostergard
ParticipantIn addition to what Erika has said the folks at the MOFGA Low Impact Forestry Workshop check out each horse to determine what the skill level of the horse(s) and teamster are. This allows them to fit them into the program appropriately. All of us whether student or instructor go through this. I am sure Andy can fill in any more details.
June 14, 2012 at 12:05 am #73199ParticipantI know all about the Veterinarian Vetting, and have taken care of that. I actually work on occasion as a large animal cet tech collecting samples for coggins and such. I am curious where and how i and my team can get vetted for experience and skill level from MOFGA. I’d really like to go up there again, but only if I can bring the team.
June 14, 2012 at 9:43 am #73195jen judkins
ParticipantMy understanding, Jay is that the November MOFGA event is no longer taking on student teams, per se. It took a lot of time to assess them and this takes away from the general curriculum. That said, I am quite sure you and your team could add a lot of valuable experience and would make a great addition to the teaching staff. My suggestion would be to contact Andy and talk to him about how you would like to participate. Its a fun and inspiring event. I look forward to it every year.
June 15, 2012 at 9:53 am #73197ParticipantIt’s true that we are no longer inviting teamsters to bring their animals to this event as students. Having students there with their teams was a large drain on our pool of experienced teamsters. We WILL be offering events and workshops throughout the year during which students will be invited to bring their teams so keep an eye on the LIF webpage http://mofga.org/Programs/LowImpactForestry/tabid/227/Default.aspx.
LIF has a core group of instructors, but we often invite others to join the teaching staff year to year. If that is something you are interested in you should send me an e-mail and we can talk about the details. amcevoy@mofga.org.
Hope to see a bunch of you there!
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