Some of the Mandala Farm family: front: Licorice and Shadow; back: Ross riding Kristi with Peg the chicken, Genio, Sara, and Enna with Rosie. Photo courtesy of Mandala Farm Genio driving Fjorgyn and Grane on a Cockshutt grain drill, seeding a cover crop of oats. Photo by David McCudden Two apprentices learning to drive a
Kelsey Herrington of MOFGA-certified organic Two Farmers Farm in Scarborough is among the skilled new farmers in Maine. In this photo she is harvesting and preparing leeks for market. Along with Herrington, Dominic Pascarelli of Two Farmers Farm strives for efficient crop production. By Stowell Watters Photos by Lily Piel Every five years the U.S.
Gil Whitehead with Star and Red – and one of two Aussies on the farm. English photo Whitehead heads into the Christmas tree plantation with his team of oxen. In winter, the oxen haul out Christmas trees that customers select and Whitehead cuts. English photo By Jean English Sixteen-year-old Gil Whitehead of MOFGA-certified organic Winterberry
Nicholas Butler of the USDA NRCS Soil Science Division discussed forest stand improvement practices, the relationship of tree species in the woodlot to soil profiles, and the Ecological Site Survey (similar to the Web Soil Survey) that USDA is developing. English photo By Katy Green, Kacey Weber and Jean English In 2016, MOFGA cosponsored four
Doug and Heather Donahue of Balfour Farm at their booth at the Common Ground Country Fair. Photo courtesy of Balfour Farm By Sonja Heyck-Merlin In Gaelic, Balfour means “from the grazing or pasture land.” Maine organic farmstead cheesemakers Heather and Doug Donahue settled on the name in honor of Doug’s Irish ancestry. The name also
Vern Grubinger of the University of Vermont said that the principles of organic agriculture can help improve our food system, our environment and our society. Photo courtesy of University of Vermont Review: Food, Farms, and Community: Exploring Food Systems By Lisa Chase and Vern Grubinger Vern Grubinger, keynote speaker at MOFGA’s 2016 Farmer to Farmer
The North Branch family, left to right: Ada, Anna, Seth, Elwyn, Tyler and Misha Some of the horse-drawn equipment used on the farm, with the fenced (from deer) fruit tree and shrub nursery in the background. A closer look at the irrigated nursery North Branch specializes in vegetable crops grown for its winter CSA Seth
Geoff and Gina Hancock make guitar pedals and straps, respectively. Photo by Holly Hancock Johanna Davis and Adam Nordell travel the country as the two-piece band Sassafras Stomp during the off-season. Photo by Rab Cummings Heather Selin of Earth Dharma works off-farm as a policy expert for tobacco use reduction. Photo by Stowell Watters Abby
Dick York’s love of agriculture inspired him to start Nature’s Circle Farm. Three of Nature’s Circle managers: left to right, Lowell Matthews, Meg York and Nicholas Fitzpatrick. Elliott Mooers (right), Matthews’ best friend since childhood, manages the H-2A workers. By Jean English; photos by the author Nature’s Circle Farm is a 390-acre MOFGA-certified organic vegetable
The Soay sheep in the foreground is Jenny, with her twins born this spring; in the background is Juliana, with her single born this spring. Wayne Myers photo A 75 percent Icelandic cashmere dairy goat, the result of an Icelandic upgrading breeding project at Beau Chemin Preservation Farm. Wayne Myers photo By Jo Ann and
