Worker safety program for Maine’s heritage industries gets funding restored

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 5, 2025

Federal funding has been restored for a Maine program that trains farmers, fishermen and loggers about health, safety and injury prevention. It serves about 1,600 workers in Maine’s heritage industries. Maine AgrAbility, part of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, received a four-year award of $551,520 through a U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant. Officials said they could not access the funding starting April 3. The funding was part of about $50 million frozen or terminated by the Trump administration for the state’s university system. The administration began targeting the system’s funding in February.