By Will Bonsall MOFGA is celebrating its 50th year at a tumultuous time in our nation’s history. I am mindful that the organic movement was born out of tumultuous times. The year 1971 found us in a soul-wrenching war in Vietnam, a growth-thwarting oil crisis and a number of challenges to democratic institutions. So, what has
By Tim King In 1972 Ken and Roberta Horn, who were farming 140 acres near Plymouth, Maine, became the first of thousands of farms to be certified organic by MOFGA over the next half century. There were 26 more certifications granted by MOFGA that year. The number nearly doubled, to 47, the following year. That
By Sonja Heyck-Merlin Evening Song Farm, owned by Ryan and Kara Fitzbeauchamp and certified organic by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont, offered a virtual farm tour during MOFGA’s 2020 Farmer to Farmer Conference. Located in Cuttingsville, Vermont, 11 miles southeast of Rutland, the 100-acre property is perched at 1,200 feet on a hillside
By Heather Spalding After nine years working as a member of MOFGA’s staff, Dave Colson has retired to the greener pastures of his beautiful farm in Androscoggin County. Dave joined the MOFGA staff in July of 2011 serving as the director of our agricultural services program. He led the program for eight years, providing leadership to
Emilia Carbone, Jed Beach (not shown) and their three adorable bugs are connected to the Lincolnville community through their farm and the Lincolnville Bulletin Board. Photo by Jed Beach By Diane Roesing O’Brien POST: Come join us for a traditional breakfast at King David’s Lodge on Howe Point Road Sunday April 1st from 7-9 AM Eggs,
Toki Oshima illustration By Grace Oedel A celebration of abundance took place at the annual Seed Swap and Scion Exchange held at MOFGA in March. People arrived with bundles of scionwood neatly labeled or jars of seeds rattling cheerfully. Toddlers helped thresh beans by jumping on dry shells; musicians fiddled as dancers swung around baskets
By John Koster The first Devon cattle were shipped from England to Plymouth Colony in 1623. Here, Wes Daniels is shown with his Devon oxen at the Common Ground Country Fair. English photo. Cows are good! Without the predictable supply of milk, meat, leather and fertilizer supplied by domesticated cattle, the great civilizations of the
Don McLean beside his bread oven. Photo by Joyce White. By Joyce White Don McLean has been an environmentalist much longer than he has been a veterinarian. In third grade, he did his science project on pollution. “Since then I have been trying to at least reduce the negative impact of modern life on our
From the MOFGA Spring Growth 2005 Conference: Local and Organic in a Global Food Economy: What is Our Role – As Farmers, Consumers and Citizens? Molly Anderson told Spring Growth Conference attendees that individual and local actions will have to be combined with other local and global efforts to ensure a just and sustainable agriculture
McDougal Orchard in Sanford is one of three farms that Maine Farmland Trust has helped protect. Bridget Besaw photo. by John Piotti When I give presentations on farming in Maine, I usually begin with this true-or-false quiz: • In the last two federal agricultural censuses, the number of farmers in Maine increased. • In the
