By Jacki Martinez Perkins We never truly know what kind of disaster can befall our farm and our livestock. As we leave behind the danger of winter ice storms and approach the seasons of spring flooding, summer drought, and fall hurricanes, it becomes a daily reality that something will go wrong, and it’s just a
By Caleb P. Goossen, Ph.D I’ve had the privilege of discussing gardening with new growers for more years than I would like to admit, and a common hurdle is letting the perfect be the enemy of the “good enough.” While I want everyone to start with a soil test if possible, I recognize that many people will
By Roberta Bailey Maine has a long history of growing grains, and was known as the bread basket of the east in the early 1800s. By mid-century, the expanding railroads provided access to cheaper wheat from the Midwest. Maine shifted production to corn, blueberries, hay, and potatoes. In the 1980s, Jim Amaral started Borealis breads
An Interview with Marina Schauffler Contamination of Maine farmland by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) garnered mainstream media attention in 2019 when the Stone family publicly shared the tragic story of chemical contamination of their dairy farm. Contamination of additional farms, including several certified organic operations, came to light following the release of a map, by
By Deb Michaelsen My livestock guardian dog (LGD) story started with a photo I saw on a Facebook group for people raising chickens in their backyards. The photo showed a big white dog sleeping in a barnyard with chickens around and even on top of it, and it got me thinking. My first livestock addition
By Elspeth Hay I am obsessed with the fact that acorns are edible. And I realize that to most people, this obsession sounds pretty surprising. So, let’s start with the obvious question: why acorns? The truth is that learning that humans can eat acorns has profoundly changed my life — and I think it can
By Maddie Eberly Growing up in Pennsylvania, I found fascination in the forest while hiking through the rolling hills of Lancaster County. I observed shoreline plants while paddling on human-built lakes and on the Susquehanna River just a few miles south of Three Mile Island (a nuclear power plant that partially melted down in 1979),
By Jacki Martinez Perkins “She’s beautiful, she’s rich, she’s got huge … tracts o’ land!” – King of Swamp Castle in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” We do not need huge tracts of land in order to keep livestock. Industry professionals like to use general guidelines of 1 acre per animal, but this is,
By Roberta Bailey Every time I shell Scarlet Runner beans with their vibrant purple-pinks swirled with blackish purples, I think of Jack and the Beanstalk. These are the beans that would tempt many of us to trade the family cow. Surely, they are full of magic, at least enough to make us covet them, to
An Interview with Dr. Rachel Criswell Back in December of 2021, Maine was rocked by the discovery of “forever chemicals” on farmlands. The issue of contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a large group of man-made chemicals used in consumer goods for their stain- and water-resistant qualities, had been bubbling to the surface since 2014, when
Landsmith Farm in Waldoboro, Maine, organically grows a wide variety of high-quality, tasty vegetables, herbs, willow, and cut flowers using practices that prioritize the health of the land and its stewards. Their products are sold wholesale and direct-to-consumer through a variety of channels, including a farm stand, pick-your-own garden, and a future CSA (community supported agriculture) program. Landsmith Farm is owned and operated by Erin Espinosa, whose identities as a queer latina woman farmer ground the farm in values of reciprocity, community, and perseverance.
Visit Ladsmith Farm on Instagram @landsmithfarm and on their Website.
