Bri Beecher By Betsy Garrold Dressed in an outfit specifically color coordinated with that year’s Common Ground Country Fair volunteer staff Fair T-shirts, Bri Beecher is a super salesperson at the Rose Gate during the Fair. As coordinator for the membership table at that gate, she speaks about MOFGA enthusiastically. She walks the line of
Toki Oshima drawing By Abbey Verrier Apples have been chasing Robert McIntyre from the time he was a little boy and his father cut down a healthy apple tree. “It didn’t have apples that I was interested in, but it sort of made a mark in my mind,” said McIntyre. Years later, as a professor
Steve Levy (left), a Slow Money Maine technical assistance mentor and member of Maine Farm & Sea Cooperative’s board, along with Gray Harris of Slow Money Maine’s steering committee and Coastal Enterprises Inc., at SMM’s November 2015 daylong gathering. Photo courtesy of SMM By Jean English Like healthy soils that nourish abundant, nutrient-dense crops, Slow Money
Patti Hamilton By Betsy Garrold In 2012, after Patti Hamilton and her husband, Chris, had been living at their current Whitefield farm for a while, they began discussing names for the property and for Patti’s dairy business. That summer as she worked in the garden, a barred owl sat in the trees during daylight hours
Rudy Kelly, an ardent heirloom apple tree sleuth and volunteer for MOFGA’s Maine Heritage Orchard, standing by an ancient tree he discovered that he calls “Jake 1829.” Photo by Abbey Verrier By Abbey Verrier and Angus Deighan A few years ago, Rudy Kelly and his girlfriend, Phoebe Barnes, were driving to the Common Ground Country
Dennis Carter and Anneli Carter-Sundqvist at their Deer Isle Hostel. Photo by Noah Kalina Spiritual, political and philosophical reasons to homestead in the 21st century By Anneli Carter-Sundqvist Living in self-reliance and simplicity is something many dream about and some fulfill by living as homesteaders. My husband, Dennis, and I do that on Deer Isle,
Jack and Anne Lazor talked about the successes and challenges of their Butterworks Farm at MOFGA’s Farmer to Farmer Conference. English photo Jack and Anne Lazor of Butterworks Farm in Westfield, Vermont, gave a moving keynote speech at MOFGA’s 2015 Farmer to Farmer Conference. They talked about the 40-year history of their farm, building soil
The MFFM board. Front L-R: Mike Gold (Maine Farmland Trust), Tom Roberts (Snakeroot Organic Farm), Mark Guzzi (Peacemeal Farm); Back L-R: Heather Donahue (Balfour Farm), Sherie Blumenthal (St. Mary’s Nutrition Center), Clayton Carter (Fail Better Farm), Jack McAdam (McDougal Orchards), Hanne Tierney (Cornerstone Farm) and Rob Lawless (Took a Leap Farm). Photo courtesy of MFFM
Pheonix Obrien and Megan Gardner are the current farmers-in-residence at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity. This photo shows them preparing for MOFGA’s Common Ground Country Fair, which takes place right outside the farmhouse where they live during their residency. English photo Farmers-in-residence grow crops on MOFGA’s grounds, enabling them to begin a farming
Toki Oshima drawing By Jean English Editor, “The Maine Organic Farmer & Gardener” As MOFGA develops a long-term, forward-looking strategic plan, I looked backward for inspiration – to our late director Russell Libby’s visionary writing. “What would Russell plan?” I wondered. A long list quickly emerged, with four intertwined themes: actions we can take at
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