Maine is in 2nd place on the 2013 Locavore Index (behind VT and ahead of NH) moving up two spots from last year. Sustainable America calculates the index based on the number of farmers markets, CSAs and food hubs per capita.
Category: Farming
Maine Tomato Crop
Today’s Press Herald includes an article about this year’s tomato crop.
The loss of Backyard Farms’ greenhouse tomato crop and a wetter-than-normal June that doused the crops of more traditional farmers have combined to create a later and leaner season for locally grown tomatoes in Maine.
Mainers Feeding Mainers & Recreating Little Lad’s
The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article by Joe Yonan about his addiction to and attempts to deconstruct the formula for Little Lad’s herbal popcorn,
Then we slowed down and concentrated as we tasted, thinking instead of shoveling. Okay, dill is definitely among the herbs. And the nutty, kinda cheesy flavor had to be that staple of vegans everywhere: nutritional yeast. A closer look at the contents of the transparent bag and the telltale golden flakes inside confirmed it. But is that really all that goes into it?
and an article about Mainers Feeding Mainers, a program run by the Good Shepherd Food Bank that hires Maine farmers to raise produce for them at wholesale prices.
It’s an innovative initiative that aims to provide fresh, locally-grown fruits and vegetables to Mainers grappling with hunger. What makes the program stand out is rather than just seeking donations from farms, the program works with farmers to pay them a fair price for their crops.
Miyake Farm
WCSH has aired a report about Miyake’s farm in Freeport which supplies produce and meat products to Miyake and Pai Men Miyake.
Chef Masa Miyake has been cooking in restaurants since he was 16, now he is realizing another dream of his, raising many breeds of animals he cannot find for his restaurants in his own backyard farm.
“Farming is more work. More difficult,” he admits, but says there is a certain type of satisfaction that comes from growing your own produce and nuturing livestock that is served at your table.
Sweetgrass Farm Distillery
In part two of The Root’s series on Maine craft distilleries blogger Sharon Kitchens and Portland Hunt & Alpine Club co-owner Andrew Volk paid a visit to Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery in Union, Maine.
Keith Bodine, co-owner, winemaker, and distiller for Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery in Union, Maine, is a man with a healthy science background and a passion to create something. Thankfully, one of those things is gin.
“I really like gin,” said Bodine. “Distilling always appealed to me. I took a couple distilling classes at (UC) Davis. It’s not a major part of their curriculum, but I was always intrigued by it.”
Interview with Fluid Farms
MaineToday.com has published an interview with Jackson McLeod and Tyler Gaudet, owners of Fluid Farms (website, facebook) an aquaponics company operating in Falmouth that’s farming basil and tilapia.
How do you explain this process to others?
Jackson- Aquaculture is raising fish in water. Hydroponics is raising plants without soil. In any system, you have to put nutrients in. Our nutrient is fish feed.
Tyler- We feed the fish, they excrete the waste that feeds the plants, the water comes back to the plants clean.
Jackson- The plants are the living filter for the fish. The fish are the nutrients for the plants.
Maine Strawberry Season
Today’s Press Herald reports about this year’s strawberry season.
This year, says David Handley, a small-fruit specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension in Monmouth, Maine is “actually having the closest thing to a normal year we’ve had in a while as far as plant development is concerned.”
“The size looks good, the quantity looks very good, and the pest problems were very few this year,” he said. “So I’m thinking we’re looking at a very good crop year.”
The article also includes a list of farms where you can pick your own strawberries, a list of strawberry festivals across the state and a list of strawberry based dishes at Maine restaurants.
Hot Wings, Taste of the Nation, GMO Labeling
Today’s Press Herald includes an article about the 2nd Annual Hot Wing Cook-off taking place on June 22nd,
People love chicken wings. If there were ever any doubt, consider that last year the first Hot Wing Cook-off Challenge, at the Marriott Residence Inn in Portland, sold out 400 tickets on a Thursday night and had to turn away 75 more hungry chicken wing fans at the door.
about the 2013 Taste of the Nation dinner taking place June 23rd (tickets available online),
The issue is childhood hunger. Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation dinners, held in nearly 40 locations across the country, bring chefs, restaurants, sponsors and the public together at over-the-top culinary benefits to raise money and awareness for local groups that make sure no kid has to go to bed hungry.
and about the passage of a bill in the Maine Legislature to require labeling of GMO foods.
A lawsuit from Monsanto likely awaits if the Legislature enacts the bill co-sponsored by 120 lawmakers, including Democrats, independents and Republicans.
Beekeeping & Farming
Today’s Press Herald includes articles on the state of beekeeping in Maine,
A recent federal report has pinpointed some of the causes of rapid die-off of bee populations from colony collapse disorder, but Maine beekeepers say hives here are flourishing.
and the increasing number of young farmers in the state.
“We were looking for a purpose. I wanted to feel good about what I did at the end of the day and wanted to feel like I’ve made some kind of a difference,” Ann Mefferd said.
“I wanted to feel like my whole lifestyle was in line with my thinking about the world, like ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.'”
SoPo Farmers Market
The Press Herald and the Forecaster are reporting that South Portland City Council has voted to allow the farmers market to return to Hinkley Drive in 2013.
City officials had been reluctant to grant the market permission to operate on the site next to Mill Creek Park and a credit union because the busy road would have to be closed for several hours every Thursday.
But after the city’s Planning Board voted last week to give the farmers’ market a special exception permit, councilors voted Wednesday night to allow the road closure.