Category: Farming

The Portland Phoenix has published an article about the burgeoning Maine cheese industry.

Maine-made cheese is having a moment. The Maine cheese industry is one of the fastest growing in the country and produces award-winning varieties. While we don’t make near as much as cheese-loving states like Wisconsin and Vermont, Maine has 73 licensed cheese makers today, up from ten a decade ago. Thanks to like prominence of local cheese at retailers like the Portland Farmers’ Market, K. Horton’s Specialty Foods, Rosemont Market, and Whole Foods, curd-loving customers are familiar with local creameries and cheese styles like never before.

For more information on Maine cheese consult the Maine Cheese Guild website.

The Bangor Daily News has published an article about Frith Farm in Scarborough.

Since July, Daniel Mays has nurtured 100 feathered friends on his organic farm in Scarborough. From tiny hatches to bright-eyed birds that “cluck and pop and make all sorts of noises,” when they are happy, his broad-breasted bronze beauties are in demand as Thanksgiving nears.

“Every year we’ve doubled the number of turkeys we raise and we still sell out before November,” Mays said of his pasture-raised birds that forage in the open and feed on grass and organic grain. “It’s hard to keep up.”

The Forecaster has published an article about Portland-based Bountiful Mushrooms Farm.

On the outskirts of downtown, wedged between a billiards bar and a busy stretch of train tracks, lies a graffiti-marked cinder-block garage. Deep within, a delicate beauty grows under heavenly white light.

Welcome to Bountiful Mushrooms Farm. Here, alongside heavy traffic and light industry, three urban farmers toil to bring fresh oyster mushrooms to life and deliver them to 20 local restaurants.

You can keep up to date on the farm by visiting them on Facebook.

Balfour Farm, an organic dairy farm and creamery, is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise $16,500 to make improvements to their milkhouse. Balfour is a regular participant in the Portland Farmers Market.

Today’s Press Herald has published an interview with Ted Quaday, the new executive director of MOFGA,

Q: …What about MOFGA stood out to you and made you want to be a part of it?
A: The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association is the oldest and largest state organic organization in the country that is dedicated to building the organic food movement. It is an organization supported by strong membership and a tremendous commitment to volunteerism that sustains its work in every way. Its dedication to collaboration among all those associated with the organization has enabled it to become a highly innovative and influential national leader in the organic movement…

and an article about Open Creamery Day and a listof participating cheesemakers.

“We did (Open Creamery Day) last year, and it was great,” [Sarah Wiederkehr]said. “My husband and I kind of tag-team tours, so as people trickle in we gather groups of five to 10 people and take them on a tour of the farm, then walk them through the milking parlor, the milk house and then through the creamery. Then we bring them out to the pasture to meet the herd.”

Open Creamery Day takes place on October 13, 2013.

The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about the 2013 apple season and the paper’s annual guide to apple picking in Maine that dozens of varieties from Baldwin to Wolf River.

“Last year we not only had a freeze, but we had hail in June, so this year is 100 percent better than last year,” said Ellen McAdam of McDougal Orchards in Springvale. “But even if we had had a good crop last year, this year is looking beautiful. The size is great, the color is great, the apples taste really good. It’s a wonderful year.”