Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Out of Vermont, Wisconin, Iowa, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire and Oregon, what state would you vote for as best for starting a farm?
Important aspects that come to mind would be cost of land, quality of land, growing season, economy..
Also quality of life things like recreation and such. I would imagine there would be a lot more recreational activities in Vermont or Oregon than in Iowa.
Land in Oregon on the west side of the Cascades (the wet side) is fairly expensive compared to other places, especially if you are looking toward large-scale agriculture. The east side of the Cascades in colder and drier with a much shorter growing season.
Here's a summary of the Willamette Valley's growing season, which is around 185 days.
zone 2 summary (http://www.ocs.orst.edu/page_links/reports/narratives/zone_2_narrative.html - broken link)
'Farming' is different things to different people.
To some folks farming means that you have 500 acres of wheat, and 400 acres of corn, and in some areas that is farming.
Soil in this area would never support that kind of farming.
Balances are needed. Access to water, and yet well drained.
Organic compost and yet minerals.
I know that I will never make a living with cattle here. I know that corn will not work here.
I bought forest land, so if I am going to make a profit from it, then I must tailor my farming methods to things that grow in a forest.
Sheep, goats, chickens, turkey, hogs, fish, eggs, fiddleheads, cordwood and veggies, maple syrup, ginseng, cider, nuts, fruit, garlic, onions.
These are all great farm products which can be produced here.
In all due respect, it sounds to me like you have a Homestead and not a farm. I am not faulting you on that, I think a lot of people get that confused and good golly there is not a Homesteader alive that has not watched a lamb chomp on hay and not wished there was a way they could never leave the place. To do that though means income based on cultivated commodities and that is where Homesteading and Farming begin to differ.
I disagree on your forest analogy though, only because when my family came here (on the Mayflower) Massachusetts Bay Colony was nothing but trees. In the 1700's when they migrated farther north to present day Maine (Waldo County), this place was forest too. There was some clearing prior to 1830, but not much.
The woolen trade is what made Maine what it is. Cities like Lewiston, Biddeford, Saco and Augusta were built literally from the backs of sheep. The farmers here cleared the woods because they knew grass grew better with full sun, and because land dries out when the wind and sunshine can get to it. It takes good soil and good feed to get a good wool clip. The sheep simply were raised on the farms away from the big rivers that powered the woolen mills.
If you have not done so already Forest Beekeeper, you should look into Agro-Forestry which sounds like its more tailored to what you are trying to do. The Heart of Maine organization based out of Newport has a nice website with a nice Agro-Forestry aspect to it. There is a national Agro-Forestry iniative with the USDA/US Forest Service but its more western based which is kind of useless for us Mainer's. You will find the director (Tessa Burpee) very nice to deal with too. Email her and you canbe on a watch-list so that when Agro-Forestry events come up, they will make sure youknow about it.
Maine Agro-Forestry Initiative - Heart of Maine Resource Conservation and Development (http://www.heartofmaine.org/maine-agro-forestry.shtml - broken link)
In all due respect, it sounds to me like you have a Homestead and not a farm. I am not faulting you on that, I think a lot of people get that confused and good golly there is not a Homesteader alive that has not watched a lamb chomp on hay and not wished there was a way they could never leave the place. To do that though means income based on cultivated commodities and that is where Homesteading and Farming begin to differ.
I disagree on your forest analogy though, only because when my family came here (on the Mayflower) Massachusetts Bay Colony was nothing but trees. In the 1700's when they migrated farther north to present day Maine (Waldo County), this place was forest too. There was some clearing prior to 1830, but not much.
The woolen trade is what made Maine what it is. Cities like Lewiston, Biddeford, Saco and Augusta were built literally from the backs of sheep. The farmers here cleared the woods because they knew grass grew better with full sun, and because land dries out when the wind and sunshine can get to it. It takes good soil and good feed to get a good wool clip. The sheep simply were raised on the farms away from the big rivers that powered the woolen mills.
If you have not done so already Forest Beekeeper, you should look into Agro-Forestry which sounds like its more tailored to what you are trying to do. The Heart of Maine organization based out of Newport has a nice website with a nice Agro-Forestry aspect to it. There is a national Agro-Forestry iniative with the USDA/US Forest Service but its more western based which is kind of useless for us Mainer's. You will find the director (Tessa Burpee) very nice to deal with too. Email her and you canbe on a watch-list so that when Agro-Forestry events come up, they will make sure youknow about it.
Maine Agro-Forestry Initiative - Heart of Maine Resource Conservation and Development (http://www.heartofmaine.org/maine-agro-forestry.shtml - broken link)
One of my ancestors was William Bradford
My other side came from a mountain man who trapped in Missouri and homesteaded there in 1790 [we have no idea where he came from before that].
Thanks.
We have been attending a lot of the workshops in the area, and I have been a vendor at the Organic Farmer's Market in Orono.
My other side came from a mountain man who trapped in Missouri and homesteaded there in 1790 [we have no idea where he came from before that].
Thanks.
We have been attending a lot of the workshops in the area, and I have been a vendor at the Organic Farmer's Market in Orono.
Oh in that case you should check out the Belfast Public Library. On the 3rd floor they have it dedicated to genealogy and town information. Since Maine is tied so tightly with Boston, they have a lot of stuff on the Colonial and Pilgrim Day's. You can't check anything out, but you can photocopy it and of course make notes.
Its not a bad time to be a farmer in Maine that's for sure, beginning or experienced. Its tough to farm in Maine, no question there, but with so few farms left they are trying to boost the numbers. Finding people with grit and determination is the problem. So many try it, but as soon as things get rough, they are done. I have seen it here. Some fault the USDA but I don't want my tax money funding "farms" that end up being sold off as sub divisions any more either.
I can't remember the exact figures but they say something like 80% of the farm land in Maine is owned by people over 60. There are a few younger people that want to farm, but they got funny ideas. (I do live next to Unity College which has VERY funny ideas) So I try to walk the thin line of doing it the traditional way and avoiding fad farming stuff, and yet sometimes with farming the traditional way has been passed down just because "that's the way its always been done," and all started because Great Grandfather did it that way once and the method stuck.
For instance I was recently told that sheep "have to have 2nd crop hay." I told them to try and pry that corn and haylage out of their mouths and tell the sheep that. They love it, but I researched it to make sure that nontraditional feed was being fed right. We don't do hay here so its haylage or corn silage and I am not going to buy feed that's for sure.
You got to be pretty flexible in this day and age that is for sure if you are going to make it with livestock. Some would call this mud and wasted corn feed. I used it to feed my sheep up until last week.
Oh in that case you should check out the Belfast Public Library. On the 3rd floor they have it dedicated to genealogy and town information. Since Maine is tied so tightly with Boston, they have a lot of stuff on the Colonial and Pilgrim Day's. You can't check anything out, but you can photocopy it and of course make notes.
Thanks.
Quote:
... I can't remember the exact figures but they say something like 80% of the farm land in Maine is owned by people over 60. There are a few younger people that want to farm, but they got funny ideas. (I do live next to Unity College which has VERY funny ideas) So I try to walk the thin line of doing it the traditional way and avoiding fad farming stuff, and yet sometimes with farming the traditional way has been passed down just because "that's the way its always been done," and all started because Great Grandfather did it that way once and the method stuck.
For instance I was recently told that sheep "have to have 2nd crop hay." I told them to try and pry that corn and haylage out of their mouths and tell the sheep that. They love it, but I researched it to make sure that nontraditional feed was being fed right. We don't do hay here so its haylage or corn silage and I am not going to buy feed that's for sure.
You got to be pretty flexible in this day and age that is for sure if you are going to make it with livestock. Some would call this mud and wasted corn feed. I used it to feed my sheep up until last week.
I went to a workshop on inter-generational farm transfers, trying to keep farms functioning and to move them from one generation to the next generation. It is hard to do.
MOFGA does attempt to organize an Apprenticeship program and to get their Journeymen into farms.
Maine enjoys a lot of Farmer's Markets.
Lots of 'activities' that support families by producing: meats, veggies, milk, cheese, and stuff.
Are these 'farms', or 'homesteads', or 'greenhouses', or 'communes'?
Are these 'farms', or 'homesteads', or 'greenhouses', or 'communes'? Where are the lines drawn to define them?
Its pretty simple, if you have 10 acres or more and make more then $10,000 dollars profit for 3 consecutive years, you are an Agricultural Producer. Production can be crops, livestock or forest products.
As for MOFGA, I assume you must have been to the Common Ground Fair? We used to farm that back before they developed the land. I fell asleep one night discing that field and ran the tractor and disc straight into the woods. (Over where the ampithere is.) It was 2AM and back in those days we ran 24 hours a day during planting and harvest season. I was just a kid, in school still, so it wasa VERY long day for me. Luckily I just backed the disc and tractor up and went back at it.
According to the 2002 census, the average age of ALL farmers in the US is 57 years old. So it's not just a Maine thing.
What a sad trend. I realize I am too dumb to do anything else, but it does make you wonder who is going to feed us next? Right now 1% of this nation feeds the other 99%...so with a lack of younger people wanting to take over the family farms, its going to leave a lot more food coming from outside the USA.
Of course with the latest Wall Street stuff going on, people today...more then ever before, are starting to realize what success truly is? I mean the average farmer is at the helm for 40 years on average. Only 50% of farms will go on to become 2nd generation farms, and even less to be 3rd generation farms, BUT on average a "successful" CEO is at the helm for a measly 6 years!!
That's what makes this farm truly special...we have been here for 251 consecutive years!! (1757-2008) We have good years and we have bad years, but the fact that we are still here so many years later means we must have been successful.
As I said a few lines ago, I am pretty simple, but I'll take farm life over city life any day. We just measure success different here.
I'm a first generation farmer. My kids aren't interested in farming but one will work with livestock. She's going to be a vet tech. My other daughter will be a marine biologist. You don't see many sea turtle farms. This place was a farm many decades ago. The entire area was. We're hoping to buy 55 acres to return it to crops but need to sell another property first. I'm hoping more people realize how much money can be made in farming and decide it's worth the hard work.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
