Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals in front of the new building at the herbal business. English photo. By Jean English Over nearly three decades, Avena Botanicals in Rockport, Maine, steadily has grown a 3-acre garden, a business and a reputation for quality herbal products – teas, tinctures, salves and more – all from 1,000 pounds
Juniper Edge Farm in Brunswick is a Forever Farm. By Jo Anne Bander Driving by the pastures, farms and orchards of rural Maine or along the more urban Route 90 in Rockport, a simple green and white round sign saying “Forever Farm” catches the eye. A program of Maine Farmland Trust (MFT), each sign designates
Human power! From left to right: apprentice Kate Harris with rake, manager Jon Ault with shovel, and apprentices Brenna Peak and Jim Church with a broadfork and pick mattock. Photo courtesy of Long Meadow Farm. By Holli Cederholm Long Meadow Farm, located in West Gardiner, Maine, demonstrates a sustainable agriculture system based on low-input, low-tech
Gloria and her husband, Gregg, raise many animals – including almost 50 organic milk cows. “Our goal is a totally organic herd,” says Gregg. Jane Lamb photo. By Jane Lamb It’s one thing for back-to-the-landers to come to Maine to start a new life, as many of MOFGA’s founders did more than 25 years ago.
A Brief Timeline of the History of Agriculture By John Koster How long have people been farming? Most people think agriculture started about 7,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent of what is now Iraq and really took hold in Egypt a few thousand years later. But Hal Roach, in “One Million B.C.,” had Loana
Paul and Sandy Arnold of Pleasant Valley Farm (118 South Valley Rd., Argyle, NY 12809; [email protected]) were the “Farmers in the Spotlight” at MOFGA and Maine Cooperative Extension’s 2010 Farmer to Farmer Conference in Northport, Maine. Both grew up in suburbia. Paul worked in the nursery business for about six years, then farmed for two years
Timber Framing at Hidden Valley Nature Center Community Supported Forestry By Rebecca Goldfine Longtime MOFGA members Bambi Jones and Tracy Moskovitz have gone from cultivating a 120-family CSA farm to grooming a 1,750-acre nature preserve – also community supported – in and around Whitefield, Maine. Rebecca Goldfine photo. The miles of woods that encircle Bambi
Scott Miller sorting apples into bags for sale inside the sales building. Joyce White photo. By Joyce White Maine Apple Day at Pietree Orchard in Sweden was a lively celebration of apples. Shelves were lined with crisp, just-picked apples, and trees were loaded with ripe pick-your-own fruit. Visitors enjoyed freshly pressed apple cider, apple
Tim Libby, project manager for Veggies for All, transplants cabbage seedlings at the host site, Unity College. Jesse Pyles photo. By Holli Cederholm On the third Saturday of every month, a well-traveled road in Unity, Maine, becomes obstructed with heavier than usual traffic as clients of the Volunteer Regional Food Pantry line up to receive
Jim Hannah has his chickens trained well – or vice versa. English photo. By Jean English Jim Hannah and Deborah Banks raise happy hens: 3,000 happy hens, in fact, all with room to roam and with feed to satisfy the most gourmand among the flock. Their Hilltop Farm in Dexter is, as far as Hannah
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