Category: Farming

Urban Beekeeping

| Posted in Farming

This week’s Portland Phoenix reports on the rising interest in beekeeping in Portland.

Interest in backyard beekeeping has increased dramatically in the last five years, says MacGregor-Forbes, who teaches three courses through the University of Maine Cooperative Extension program. Off the top of her head, she can think of 25 urban beekeepers in the city of Portland, but there are about 800 beekeepers in Maine who manage a total of 10,000 hives. “Most people keep bees as a way to give back to the environment,” she says. “The bonus is that they get honey.”

Meet Your Farmer

| Posted in Farming

The Portland Daily Sun interviewed the creators of Meet Your Farmer.

Debuting on Maine Public Broadcasting network on Thursday, May 19, “Meet Your Farmer” is a co-production of Pull Start Pictures and The Maine Farmland Trust and offers a series of eight short profiles of farms in Maine.

“The Maine Farmland Trust wants to help every aspect of agriculture, but the mission of the [film] is to try to profile a bunch of different types of farming in the state, and look at the diversity of agriculture in Maine,” said Jason Mann of Pull-Start Pictures.

Food Freedom

| Posted in Farming

The cover story in this week’s Portland Phoenix reports on the struggle of local Maine farmers to break free from federal and state food rules that were written for industrial agriculture.

“From farm to table” isn’t just a meaningless foodie slogan anymore. It’s the rallying cry for the smallest of small-scale farming operations in Maine, which are fighting against what they consider to be burdensome state and federal regulations. In the process, they’re laying the groundwork for a nationwide “food sovereignty” movement, aimed at restoring the direct relationship between food producers and consumers, while reducing government interference in local food systems.

The Changing Face of Maine Farming

| Posted in Farming

The latest issue of Mainebiz reports on the changing face of farming in Maine,

Younger farmers like Brenner and Bliss are invigorating Maine’s agriculture industry, riding a societal shift toward locally sourced goods that has made farming a viable enterprise even for those lacking land and generational expertise. The average Maine farmer is 56.4 years old, hardly a spring chicken but ranking the state a decent 17th in the nation (between Wisconsin and Indiana’s youthful 55 years and last place New Mexico’s comparatively old 59.6), according to 2007 USDA census figures, the most recent available. The age is lower among Maine’s organic farmers, who average 52 years old.

Urban Chickens

| Posted in Farming

The Portland Phoenix checks in on one family raising chickens in the city and gets some advice from Stacey Collins who teaches new chicken owners on how to do it right.

It’s been two years since Portland permitted city dwellers to raise a maximum of six egg-laying chickens. To date, 21 licenses have been issued for a $25 yearly fee. “I’m surprised more people don’t have chickens,” says Moger. “It’s been a fairly seamless integration into our lives and it’s not a huge amount of work.” The family built a coop against the back wall of their garage and cut a small hole leading to a fenced-in area in their backyard. The chickens come out of the coop in the morning, the family collects eggs, scoops out the coop, makes sure “the ladies” have enough water and grain, and puts them back in at night.

Maine Farming & Looking Past the Pancake

| Posted in Distilling & Cocktails, Farming

An article in the Food & Dining section of today’s Press Herald looks past the pancake at cocktail and other drink ideas that incorporate maple syrup,

We usually run stories on how the season is going and share ideas for what you can do with all that springtime sweetness besides pour it over pancakes and ice cream. This year, inspired by a maple latte from Arabica, I decided to take a look at maple drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

and the Natural Foodie column exams how Maine’s growing network of small farms creates a better food system for the state.

According to the latest statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maine is home to 8,100 farms, and more than 90 percent of them are classified as small operations. Maine is also ahead of the curve in the organic farming movement, with the number of certified farms doubling between 2006 and 2008, the latest years for which the USDA’s figures are available.

Chef’s Favorite Things & Loans for Farms

| Posted in People, Cooking, Farming

The Press Herald asked 20  Maine chefs to share their favorite, thing, idea or technique from the past year, and have compiled the results in today’s paper.

The newest technique that I have found to be very helpful in the kitchen is using my food processor in some of our charcuterie processes. Before I read about this technique, I relied solely on my meat grinder for processing meats, which works great for coarse, country-style sausages and pates. But when I want to make something a little more refined, with a smooth, delicate texture, I will grind the meat first and then use the food processor to finish the process. Doing this helps me to make beautiful mortadella, which has become a favorite on our daily charcuterie board.

— Peter Sueltenfuss, chef, District, Portland

Also in today’s paper is an article about the No Small Potatoes Investment Club which provides low interest loans to farmers.

So far, the group has made three loans. In addition to the Thirty Acre Farm loan, the club has loaned money to Heiwa Tofu in Camden and Lalibela Farm in Dresden.

“I love aligning my beliefs with my investments,” said Eleanor Kinney of Bremen, another founding club member. “This is a different model than having stock in companies that make products which I’d never feed my children.”

Farmland and Organic Acres

| Posted in Farming

MPBN has reported on two announcements made at this year’s Maine Agricultural Trades Convention. MOFGA set a goal to double the number of organic farms in Maine over the next 5 years and bring the percentage of organic acreage up to 10%,

MOFGA commissioned a study based on statistics from the 2007 Census of Agriculture, and among other things, it found that Maine has one of the largest collections of organic farms in the nation. Still, admits Libby, they’re a small part of the agricultural landscape in Maine. Organic farms account for roughly seven percent, respectively, of the state’s overall farming acreage, assets and gross revenue.

and the Maine Farmland Trust has…

launched a campaign to preserve 100,000 acres of farmland throughout the state by 2014. The initiative, announced this morning at the annual state farm show in Augusta, was prompted by concerns that much of Maine’s farmland will be in transition in the next 10 to 15 years as aging farmers sell off their farms or die.

For additional reporting on these announcements read this Press Herald article.

Oakhurst Dairy, Who Owns Organic, Ending the Currant Ban, Overfishing Ends

| Posted in People, Profiles, Farming, Fisheries

Also in today’s paper were articles about Oakhurst Dairy and the Bennett family who have run the business since it started in 1921,

“We have been able to stave off being bought by maintaining a strong brand identity. People know what we do and what we stand for,” Oakhurst President and Chief Operating Officer William Bennett said during a tour this week of the Oakhurst production plant on Forest Avenue.

reports on the effort to repeal the ban on growing currants in Maine, and on organic programming at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show,

Lisa Fernandes of Cape Elizabeth, who leads the Portland Permaculture Meetup, is coordinating the effort to get an old Maine law banning Ribes plants repealed. The law was enacted decades ago in an effort to control white pine blister rust, a plant disease that requires both pines and Ribes plants to persist.

and on statements made by the former chief scientist of NOAA’s Fisheries Service that overfishing will end this year,

The projected end of overfishing comes during a turbulent fishing year that has seen New England fishermen switch to a radically new management system. But scientist Steve Murawski said that for the first time in written fishing history, which goes back to 1900, “As far as we know, we’ve hit the right levels, which is a milestone.”