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
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
Only the scions outnumber the people at the Seed Swap and Scion Exchange. John Bunker photo Scion Exchange, Grafting, Planting and New Apple Books By John Bunker The Maine Heritage Orchard at MOFGA is beginning to wake up after a winter of huddling under ice and snow. Meanwhile the heritage orchard crew was out pruning
The Heck family – Josh, Natalie, Caroline and Kirsten, left to right – savor apples set out for tasting at the Great Maine Apple Day. English photo By John Bunker In the autumn of 1852, a farmer named N.T. True of Bethel, Maine, packed up and headed for the Oxford County Agricultural Society fall fruit
Left to right: Vaughn, Laura and Brooke Chase with a few of their cows, including a newborn calf. The Chase family has been involved in dairy farming in Aroostook County for more than 60 years. Inside the barn at Chase’s. Esch Family Farm is a new, progressive organic dairy farm in Smyrna. The modern, well
The author with her husband, Charlie Allen. Photo by Myles Allen By Lynn Hower Allen In 1975, the year we met, my then husband-to-be, Charlie, bought a derelict house and 10 acres of land in Union, Maine. The long, rectangular property stretched across a south facing slope at an elevation of 600 feet and had
A “Green Man” carving by Pat Austin in the display gardens at David Austin Roses, Albrighton, near Wolverhampton, England. Photo by Simon Garbutt from wikipedia.org By Joyce White Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein I’ve always suspected there is some kind of magic in woods, fields and
Ron and Melissa Harwood and Luke. Photo by Michele McCarthy By Ellen S. Gibson Maine AgrAbility staff attends various events throughout the year to further its mission to help farmers, members of farm families and farm workers overcome pain, injury or disability so that they can continue to work safely and productively. In late September
Karen and Paul Volckhausen. Photo courtesy of Happy Town Farm Sheep are an integral part of nutrient cycling at Happy Town Farm. English photo Karen’s cut flower business has grown since she retired from nursing. Photo courtesy of Happy Town Farm Paul and Karen Volckhausen were the “farmers in the spotlight” at MOFGA’s 2017 Farmer
Emily Oakley spoke at MOFGA’s Farmer to Farmer Conference about making a living on a small farm and about having input into national organic standards. Left to right: Jim Gerritsen (Wood Prairie Family Farm), Emily Oakley, and Eric Sideman and Dave Colson from MOFGA. English photo As organic foods gain an ever wider audience and
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