Definitions Land trusts are non-profit organizations that protect land directly by buying it, accepting it as a donation or acquiring a partial interest called a conservation easement that allows the land trust to protect the conservation values of the land forever. Land trusts have taken up where government left off preserving land, largely in the
Elizabeth Henderson talked about the community organizing that goes along with CSA farms. She is shown here talking with MOFGA-certified organic farmer Allan Smith. By Jean English Variations on the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) theme were highlighted at MOFGA’s Spring Growth Conference in April. Community Supported Agriculture involves customers who buy shares in a farm,
Collective Advice Nathanial Thompson feels that, after three years, the Full Plate Farm Collective is becoming a solid venture. “There are so many things we learned along the way,” he says. Here is some of his best advice for those who might like to try a collective venture. • In a cooperative venture, growers have
by Alison LePage If you asked me five years ago where my food came from, I probably couldn’t even tell you what state it was grown in, much less the actual farm that produced it. But when my husband and I left “big city living” and moved to Maine in 2002, something changed in the
CSA Farms Grow Beyond Summer Veggies by Jean English Pete Johnson of Craftsbury, Vermont, and Jeff and Amy Burchstead of Wiscasset, Maine, described their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms at MOFGA and Cooperative Extension’s Farmer-to-Farmer Conference in November. Working with horses at Buckwheat Blossom Farm. Photo courtesy Jeff and Amy Burchstead. The Burchsteads of Buckwheat
by Melissa White A cruel paradox in our world today is that a disproportionate number of lower income people are obese. Of Mainers with under $25,000 annual household income, 25% are obese, compared with 15% of those with incomes of $50,000 or greater.1 One factor contributing to this discrepancy is the cost of healthful food.
Photo: Hope’s Edge Farm Almost 1% of Maine families are getting summer produce from Community Supported Agriculture farms (CSAs). “A lot more would like to but don’t know how to connect,” said Russell Libby at a MOFGA-sponsored talk at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show in January. To inspire others to start such farms, Tom Griffin
Young Farmers, Creative Beginnings Young Maine farmers Laura Millay, Chris Cavendish and Mark Guzzi entered farming through three distinctly different ways. They shared their successes and a few mistakes at the Farmer to Farmer Conference last November. English photo. Farmland is often too expensive for young farmers to afford. Land that is affordable is
By Jean English Copyright 2006 Consumers don’t have to wait for a farmer to start a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm; instead, they can organize themselves into a group and then find a farmer or farmers to grow food for them. In the June-August 2006 issue of The MOF&G, we featured efforts of MOFGA and
Provided by Dandelion Spring Farm and Straw Farm Lee Straw and Beth Schiller produce most of the food their CSA members might eat, at their two businesses located on the same farm in Newcastle, Maine. Photo by Keri Pickett, courtesy of Horizon Organics. By Holli Cederholm Dandelion Spring’s vegetable fields and Straw Farm’s rolling pastures
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