“Wanted” Central Maine Farmers to weigh in on General Store

The Dexter Regional Development Corporation (DRDC), in coordination with the Town of Dexter, is in the process of developing a year round general store (to be known as the Fossa General Store), located at 4 Main Street, to sell locally grown, locally produced foods and other goods. We are in hopes to also have a small certified kitchen on premise for a variety of uses.

The group recently received a CDBG grant to renovate the Fossa Building which is currently empty, but is owned by DRDC, a 5013C non-profit organization. Once renovated, the building will be ready to open by August of 2010 in hopes to sell Central Maine foods grown & produced within a 25 ± mile radius of the Dexter area.

In the mean time, we are seeking local farmers and goods producers’ opinion in how to develop a consumer friendly general store. We are generating a list of farmers interested in selling their goods and find out what goods are available. We envision that most of our Maine store stock will come from the 25 +/- mile radius.
We are inviting you to the 1st Farmer/Producer meeting on Tuesday, November 17th at 7 pm to have a “farmers input” session. We are looking for what farmers are producing and are they interested in providing products to the retail store. The Farm Project Committee is also looking for input from the consumer and what type of locally grown & produce products are YOU looking for. This is a community effort and we need the community’s input and support.

Currently we are forming a Farmers Advisor Board which will include farmers, DRDC representatives, and a cross section of experts in the various sectors related to this initiative, coming from the Penobscot, Piscataquis & Somerset communities. We expect this Board will oversee the quality of the products, the addition of new products, make suggestions on the general business operations and such. We will be employing staff needed to run & manage the store, inventory and other operations.

There will be many more aspects of the project as time progresses. The year round General Store is just Phase I of the larger project we envision that will include an online ordering system with possible home delivery (if there is enough support), the development of a local creamery, warehousing for storage, a café, and developing a large scale shared greenhouse. The possibilities are endless!
DRDC is currently seeking a USDA Value Added Producers Grant to help cover the operating costs for the first year or two and this is only one of many grants we are looking into and applying for.

We have developed a survey that is available at DexterFarmProject.com that will help develop a working relationship between the providers, the sellers and the consumers. We hope that you take the time to fill it out.

You can also call 924.3067 to ask to have one mailed to you or for a personal visit. Please note that you can remain anonymous, but we would like your name for our records if you are comfortable with that.

The community is invite to the Farm Project “regular monthly meetings” on the 1st Tuesday of every month and are held at the Dexter Town Council Chambers on Main Street in Dexter.

For more information, please contact Farm Project Coordinator Judy Wilbur Craig at 924.3067 or email at judy@DexterFarmProject.com.

Dexter council to ponder land deal at Fossa site

Dexter council to ponder land deal at Fossa site
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
By Diana Bowley of the BDN Staff - DEXTER, Maine — The Town Council next month will consider deeding a small plot of land between the former Fossa building and the pavement of the parking lot access road to the Dexter Regional Development Corp.

The nonprofit corporation owns the Fossa building, and it plans to renovate the building to house a year-round farmers market (local General Store). The corporation would like to have an entrance to the building on the small plot that would comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.

“It just seemed to make sense,” Dexter Town Manager David Pearson told the council last week of deeding the small piece of land to the corporation. The Fossa building is going to rebuild and it would make sense to have an outdoor deck for an entrance on the Route 7 side, he said.

Both Pearson and Councilor Judy Craig are members of the DRDC. Craig abstained when the council voted to place the request on next month’s agenda.

“It’s just creating a use for wasted space,” Councilor Roger Brawn said last week.

The approximately 0.03 acre in question is “kind of a gully” that starts at the granite curbing next to the road leading to the back of the downtown shopping district and ends at the Fossa building, according to Pearson.

Pearson said the plot, which does not include the small parking lot, the trees and the roadway, was part of the property the town purchased for about $40,000 from the Davis family several years ago, he said. The entire lot is assessed at $7,900. Of that, the small piece, which represents about one-quarter of the property, has a value of less than $2,000, according to Pearson.

The corporation, through the town, obtained $230,000 to rehab the Fossa building. Requests for proposals are being prepared for an architect to design the project. Once that work has been completed, the corporation will solicit bids for the construction. Organizers hope to have the building finished and open next summer.

The corporation has agreed to pay all fees and costs in the execution and recording of the municipal quitclaim deed.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Tuesday, October 13, 2009 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."

Farm 'experiment' tests subsistence

Farm 'experiment' tests subsistence
Friday, August 28, 2009
By Diana Bowley of the BDN Staff: DEXTER, Maine - Fred Sherburne, 57, and his nephew Shawn Sherburne, 35, watched as honeybees flitted over the sea of golden yellow sunflowers that surrounded them, a crop both men hope will help their struggling multigeneration dairy farm survive.

The elder Sherburne, who operates Top of Maine Farms off the Ripley Road, planted about 18 acres in sunflowers this year — and much more of his approximately 400 acres in oats, wheat and corn — in an attempt to diversify and to help offset the loss from dropping organic milk prices.

"Diversification is the key to the whole [farm] thing," Fred Sherburne said Monday.

How well the experiment works will determine whether Shawn will continue the operation when Fred retires and whether Fred's own grandchildren will continue the tradition.

"Farmers in Maine have got to diversify in order to make it a viable operation for the next generation, and we're trying to do that, to make it viable for Shawn to continue on with the family farm," Fred Sherburne said.

Maine residents could do much to help struggling farmers by buying local.

"We've got to look closer to home and try not to buy [farm products] from so far away and try to keep our production and sales local," Sherburne said. "I don't see the small farmers making a living by sending our milk to Massachusetts and New York."

Right now Maine dairy farming is so troubled that conventional milk prices are where they were when Sherburne took over the farm in 1972, he said.

Sherburne said he sold his dairy herd in 2003 but struggled for two years trying to find out what he could do in life that he enjoyed as much. In the end, he decided farming was what he needed to do, so he returned to dairy farming in 2006. He also was aware that he had to make some crucial changes in order to keep his farm, which he has had to refinance twice.

Albion farmer Henry Perkins piqued Sherburne's interest in sunflowers. Perkins, who had been growing sunflowers for about two years, produces vegetable oil from the seeds, according to Sherburne. Perkins' success was enough to encourage Sherburne to purchase some of the seeds and begin his own effort. Using some of his own acreage and that of a friend's, Sherburne planted about 33,000 sunflower seeds per acre, and other than an application of manure and an attempt to keep the weeds at bay, he's done little else to care for the plants.

In a month or so, the brilliant sunflowers will be harvested. Sherburne plans to store the seeds for a while, then have Perkins press them to separate the oil from the meat. The oil will be used to fuel Top of Maine Farms and the farm's tractors, while the meat will be fed to his milking herd of 140. The stalks will be ground up for bedding so nothing is wasted, he said.

Sherburne expects the sunflowers to produce 40 to 80 gallons of oil per acre, which represents about one-third of the volume of oil he now uses on his farm. The meat from the seeds will represent about a third of his herd's supplemental protein.

"We are trying to be a biological farm in that we are using all natural [items]," Sherburne said. At the same time, "we could potentially furnish our energy needs here, both diesel and heating fuel."

The wheat planting is an experiment that is being conducted with help from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, according to Sherburne. "It's an interesting experiment," he said.

Ten percent of the wheat harvested will be sold to a Skowhegan market for bread making and the remainder will be fed to his cattle. The stalks will be used for straw so as not to waste any part of the plant.

The oats will serve as cattle feed and bedding, according to Sherburne. As for the corn — well, Sherburne would rather not talk about that, he said with a curt laugh. The sunflowers, which rise about 5½ feet into the air, have far surpassed the size of the corn.

While the rainy summer has affected his crops, Sherburne is optimistic the harvest will be productive. "It's been a really tough [year] — there's been way too much rain initially," he said. The rain has resulted in crops below normal quality and yields that have been reduced considerably, he noted.

Sherburne, who works the same property that three generations before him worked, said planting new crops is a learning experience. "I think about alternative things all the time," he said. "This is an experiment, and we'll see how it works as to whether we want to expand it or give it up."

Looking back, Sherburne said if he had to do something different, it would have been to "pray a little more for better weather."

Eyeing his field of sunflowers, Sherburne said, "I like the look of sunflowers, so if nothing else, I knew they were going to be pretty."
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Friday, August 28, 2009 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."

My backyard friends

This little girl and her twin hang out in my backyard munching on my brussel sprouts, strawberry plants and parseley in the raised bed garden.
I didn't have the heart to chase 'em out because they are so darn cute!
I even went out on the deck and talked with them and they just stood there...
Better having them then the wolf that walked by my office/home window last week. 

Dexter to develop farm project - Bangor Daily News

Dexter to develop farm project - Bangor Daily News

Shared via AddThis

Locally Grown Revitalization underway in Dexter

Thursday, July 30, 2009
DEXTER - An idea simmering on the back burner for years is coming to a full boil in Dexter. When the Fossa family gifted the Dexter Regional Development Corporation with their downtown property several years ago, the idea of a farmer's market/general store was "one of the top three on the list" according to Judy Craig. But there was no money to make improvements to the building.

Recently when local farmers brought concerns forward about market losses, the DRDC had a new version of that old idea. Why not create local markets for local farmers?

"We decided to take action and look out for ourselves," Craig said. "We have the Fossa building. We've had offers of renting or selling, but it just wasn't the right time or it wasn't enough money. To rent, it would need too much work. So fate, I think, came into play. If you wait long enough, the right thing comes along, and that's what happened."

The DRDC has ambitious plans to assist local farmers and revitalize downtown.

"Farmers are losing markets – especially organic farmers," Craig said. "We see no reason milk should be shipped out of state, processed and then shipped back so we asked 'Why aren't we doing this locally like we used to."

Craig said that a core group of people came together around the idea of creating a local creamery and a farmer's market. Most had Dexter roots going generations back, and though individuals hadn't kept in touch over the years, there is a sense of trust that moves the group forward.

"When somebody says they'll do something, they follow through," Craig said. The group has been meeting, and growing, regularly for several months. Two of the farmers involved are checking out equipment and other markets doing similar projects. The group is talking with state officials and trying to design something that will be good for their own community, but also for farmers and communities statewide who want to follow the trail being blazed.

Craig said she envisions the plan has three cornerstones. First is the former Fossa general store, which once fully renovated, would sell ground wheat, produce, meats, eggs, chicken, bakery items – all locally produced. The store would also house an ice cream shop offering locally made dairy treats.

"We want a kitchen in the store to do demonstrations like kids coming in to learn how to prepare vegetables and dips for health snacks," Craig said. "Eventually, we hope to have a building where we will have a certified kitchen where people can actually do canning of their products so they can be sold in the store. These are lofty ideas, but doable."

The second cornerstone is the creamery. Milk, cream, ice cream and yogurt would be produced there. Butter might be, as well, though an individual local business is considering taking on that operation. Third, in order to reliably meet demands, the business would need warehousing space.

The Dexter Creamery and Farmer's Community Project is still very much in the design phase. Discussions are ongoing about how to structure and oversee the business, which will be a non-profit. The creamery will be a LLC while the store will be owned by the DRDC, which is a non-profit organization. Any profit made will be reinvested into improving the enterprise, Craig said.

"We're trying to support local farmers so they can add on hands, plant more wheat or beans," Craig said.

Products not available from Dexter producers, such as buffalo meat, honey, maple syrup, produce and goat cheese, may come from other producers within a 50 mile radius, Craig said. The idea is to offer locally produced, homegrown foods that provide affordable, healthy items while simultaneously supporting local farmers. Organic items may be offered if research indicates that local consumers would be willing to pay the higher prices for these items.

The group is in discussions with a company that provides delivery service to health food stores within that 50 mile radius. If something can be arranged, it will provide additional markets for local produce in addition to the Dexter store.

Heart of Maine Resource Conservation and Development is working with the Dexter group. Software is being developed that will allow consumers to go online and place grocery orders to be picked up at the Dexter store later. Eventually, Craig also envisions home delivery of locally-grown grocery items. Another component of the software will allow farmers to input the crops and products they have available for sale.

Craig said that the USDA and the Maine Department of Agriculture are aware of the project and have shown interest. So have two local school districts who may serve locally grown foods if they are an affordable option. The Sebasticook Valley Chamber of Commerce has also taken an interest, as has the Tiger Wellness Program. The Abbot Memorial Book Club has formed a focus group to look at warehousing options and organization structure for the group.

As of now, the Dexter Creamery and Farmer's Community Project is waiting to hear the outcome of a $250,000 Community Development Block Grant application that would pay for Fossa building renovations. An announcement of grant recipients is expected on August 7. Those interested in more information may call Craig at 924-3067 or email her at judy@dextermaine.com "This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the SVWeekly.com and is used here with permission."

Dexter organizers create farmers market plan

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
By Diana Bowley BDN Staff: DEXTER, Maine — Dexter is circling around its farmers to ensure they survive so local residents can continue to get wholesome and fresh farm produce.

Organizations from the local book club to the Dexter Regional Development Corp. have been working with local farmers behind the scenes for months on plans that would both support the farmers and improve the region’s economy.

“We all feel that we need to become, in the climate of the country, locally self-reliant and this is the first step in doing that,” Judy Craig, town councilor and Dexter Regional Development Corp. president, said Friday.

The group has adopted a “three-prong” approach: the development of a local creamery where milk would be pasteurized and where other milk-derivative products such as ice cream, yogurt and cheese would be made; the creation of a year-round farmers market on Main Street; and the purchase of a warehouse to store the local goods. They also envision wholesaling the local products to health food stores throughout the state.

“This is all a big, old idea with lots and lots of local support,” Craig said. She said the organizers are working to secure grants to help move the project forward.

Craig said a search is being conducted for a building that could be used for the creamery and the farmers have a search under way for equipment needed for the business. She said organizers envision a processing plant that would have a glass partition where visitors and residents could watch milk being pasteurized, and butter and ice cream being made.

“We’re doing lots of legwork right now,” Craig said. “We’re each going in a different direction to try to get information to bring back to the next meeting.”

Residents also are being asked to weigh in. In the town’s comprehensive plan survey, residents are being asked whether they would pay a little extra for organic products and whether they would support local farmers.

The organizers envision the products made at the creamery, as well as locally grown or raised products within a 50-mile radius, would be sold at the farmers market downtown. Those products would include honey, locally grown meats, and maple syrup as well as garden produce.

Craig said the Fossa building location owned by the corporation is being eyed for the market. Because the building is in “very bad disrepair,” the group hopes to secure a $250,000 grant to remove the building and replace it.

“When we first got the [Fossa] building, the first thing our vision was for it, was a farmers market,” Craig said. “This will take it to the next level.”

The Town Council last week agreed to support the submission of a Community Development Block Grant for the communitywide effort. While the town would be the applicant, no local property taxes would be used, Craig said. Any match would be provided by the corporation, she said.

The town’s part-time economic development specialist, Jason Bird, is writing the grant on behalf of the town. USDA officials also are working with the organizers.

The project is growing in support daily, according to Craig. Local doctors are enthused because of the wholesome quality of local produce and its relation to good health. In addition, a school official in the region expressed his interest in the possibility of offering the fresh produce and milk products in his school system.

“While we’re supporting our local farms and becoming more self-reliant, we’re also becoming healthier,” Craig said.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Tuesday, June 16, 2009 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."

Wild West Weekend update

7th Wild West Week-end plans in motion

DEXTER - Dexter Regional Development Corporation is saddling up for the 7th Annual Wild West Weekend, held annually the 1st weekend of August which falls on July 31st, August 1st & 2nd in 2009. Come help us “Unite Family and Community, now and in the Future”.

Wild West Weekend has become an economic boost for area businesses, helped with fund raising, creating awareness for non-profits, and showcasing our beautiful Main Street and the Town of Dexter.
Part of this years events include or are tentative: P & L Markets Pig Scramble on Saturday afternoon at 2 pm, Dragon Den’s 3rd Annual Stick Pony Rodeo on Main Street and Country Charm’s 3rd Annual Wheel Barrow Race, Friday’s Kiddie Parade, Crazy Bob’s Pizza Eating Contest, DRHS Field Hockey Maine Chicken BBQ, Maine Choice Realty Skillet Toss & New Hope Baptist Church Wild West Olympics, Ray Stafford Concert, Debbie Myers Friday Night Concert 7 to 9 pm, North Country Riding Club Horse Show, Wild Jim’s Jamboree at Wayside Park both Friday and Saturday, Christian Community Church Chicken Pie Supper & outside Sunday Service, Dexter Fire Department Ducky Race, Roger Brawn Real Estate Scavenger Hunt, Dexter Health Care Ride-In, Poulliot-Seavey Post of the American Legion Bingo, Christian Community Church Sunday Service, Kiwanis Silent Auction, Town of Dexter Silent Auction in the Town Council Chambers, Bud’s Shop’n Save Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday 10 to 4, DRHS Football team Hot Dog Sale at Buds on Saturday.

Businesses, vendors, churches & organizations currently signed up;
Adoption Plus
A.E. Robinson
American Legion
Bangor Savings
Blackwell Insurance
Blanket Works
Brewster Inn
Buds Shop'n Save
CD Electric & ABCD Pre School
Christian Community Church
Country Charm
Country Singer Ray Stafford
CPB Food Wagon
Dexter Creamery & Community Farmers Project
Dexter Family Practice
Dexter Fire Department
Dexter Health Care
Dexter Lakes Association
Dexter Municipal Golf Course
Dexter Print Shop
Dexter Sunrise Kiwanis
Dexter Variety
Dexter Exxon
Dick's Sticks
Down East Liquidation
Dragons Den
DRHS Football Team
DRHS Key Club
Dusters Car Club
Friendly Forest Day Care
Half Moon Acres
Hall's Wholesale
J & D’s Crafts & Pantry
Judy Craig Consulting
Kent's Dogs
Mainely Cookouts
Mainely Crafts
New Hope Baptist Church
Norm Nugent Trivets
North Country Riding Club
Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church
P&L Market
Prudential
Renys
Roger Brawn Real Estate
SAD#48 Food Services
Sebasticook Family Doctors
Sebasticook Valley Chamber of Commerce
Skowhegan Savings Bank
Snap of the Dragon
Tatto Temptations
The Eastern Gazette
Thomas Honea Balloons
Tillson True Value
Toot's Deli
Town of Dexter
Varney Insurance Agency
Yogi's Doughboys & More

DRDC will be holding the 7th Annual Costume Contest with $250 in cash prizes to be held right before the Debbie Myers Concert on Main Street.

The 5th Annual “Wild West Business Decorating Showdown” will again take place with judging on Friday.
Dress up your window(s) and/or create displays in your Dexter business for Wild West Weekend and an impartial panel of judges will be discreetly going around town during WWW and choosing who will have the honor of hanging the Annual Wild West Weekend Plaque for 2009. The winner is announced during the Main Street Concert on Friday night on Main Street
Please let me know what your plans are to make your business, club, church or home "wildly" stand out. Also, please invite your business neighbors to participate. I have created an emailing list, but may not have everyone’s email address, so let me know if you want to be added to the Wild West email list.
The Dexter Fire Department will be ending Wild West Weekend at the end of the week, August 6, 7 and 8 with their Annual Auction.
So grab your partna' and join us on July 31st, August 1st & 2nd in Dexter.
If you would like more information, contact DRDC President Judy Wilbur Craig, Wild West Weekend Coordinator at (207) 924-3067 or email judy@DexterMaine.com and check us out on the web for more details and LOTS of pictures from the past 6 years at www.WildWestWeekend.com.

Dexter Creamery & Community Farmers Project

Dexter organizers create farmers market plan

By Diana Bowley
BDN Staff

DEXTER, Maine — Dexter is circling around its farmers to ensure they survive so local residents can continue to get wholesome and fresh farm produce.

Organizations from the local book club to the Dexter Regional Development Corp. have been working with local farmers behind the scenes for months on plans that would both support the farmers and improve the region’s economy.

“We all feel that we need to become, in the climate of the country, locally self-reliant and this is the first step in doing that,” Judy Craig, town councilor and Dexter Regional Development Corp. president, said Friday.

The group has adopted a “three-prong” approach: the development of a local creamery where milk would be pasteurized and where other milk-derivative products such as ice cream, yogurt and cheese would be made; the creation of a year-round farmers market on Main Street; and the purchase of a warehouse to store the local goods. They also envision wholesaling the local products to health food stores throughout the state.

“This is all a big, old idea with lots and lots of local support,” Craig said. She said the organizers are working to secure grants to help move the project forward.

Craig said a search is being conducted for a building that could be used for the creamery and the farmers have a search under way for equipment needed for the business. She said organizers envision a processing plant that would have a glass partition where visitors and residents could watch milk being pasteurized, and butter and ice cream being made.

“We’re doing lots of legwork right now,” Craig said. “We’re each going in a different direction to try to get information to bring back to the next meeting.”

Residents also are being asked to weigh in. In the town’s comprehensive plan survey, residents are being asked whether they would pay a little extra for organic products and whether they would support local farmers.

The organizers envision the products made at the creamery, as well as locally grown or raised products within a 50-mile radius, would be sold at the farmers market downtown. Those products would include honey, locally grown meats, and maple syrup as well as garden produce.

Craig said the Fossa building location owned by the corporation is being eyed for the market. Because the building is in “very bad disrepair,” the group hopes to secure a $250,000 grant to remove the building and replace it.

“When we first got the [Fossa] building, the first thing our vision was for it, was a farmers market,” Craig said. “This will take it to the next level.”

The Town Council last week agreed to support the submission of a Community Development Block Grant for the communitywide effort. While the town would be the applicant, no local property taxes would be used, Craig said. Any match would be provided by the corporation, she said.

The town’s part-time economic development specialist, Jason Bird, is writing the grant on behalf of the town. USDA officials also are working with the organizers.

The project is growing in support daily, according to Craig. Local doctors are enthused because of the wholesome quality of local produce and its relation to good health. In addition, a school official in the region expressed his interest in the possibility of offering the fresh produce and milk products in his school system.

“While we’re supporting our local farms and becoming more self-reliant, we’re also becoming healthier,” Craig said.

Support your local farmers

The letter below is from a local farmer and I hope you will pass the word about how this company is screwing with our Maine Milk Producers. The letter is written by Fred Sherburne of Dexter...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“You can feel good about Hood”… NOT!

This slogan has brought smiles to the faces of young and old alike for several generations. I remember as a youngster, in the early 1960's, my dad shipped milk on the “Boston Market.” The milk actually traveled less than 20 miles to the H.P. Hood cottage cheese plant in Newport, Maine…The best cottage cheese in the Northeast…The biggest producer of the same on the East coast. My 4th grade class and my 4-H club both took field trips there. We were given Hood Dixie Cups with individual wooden “spoons” taped to the tops which told us, “You can feel good about Hood.”

In the late 1960's, our farm switched to the Maine Market.” Maine had a unique pricing system linked directly to consumer demand. There were several bottlers in the Bangor area, the bigger ones being Grant's Dairy, Smiley's, Footman's and Pleasant hill Dairy, probably more. Our milk went to Pleasant Hill, about 40 miles from the farm. These dairies tried to bottle about 90% of what producers sent there. The price was about 1/3 higher on the “Maine Market than on the “Boston Market,” $16.00 compared to $12.)) per hundred weight (CWT), or about $1.00 per gallon at the farm compared to $1.50…a big incentive to be on the “Maine Market.”

A similar difference today is offered by the “Organic Market” versus the conventional market. Producers of organic milk receive about 30-50% more per gallon or CWT as do “conventional” farmers. To do this, we have to adhere to strict rules as to how our land is treated, using no chemical A.K.A. synthetic fertilizers or crop protection products. Our animals must be allowed to have access to green grass and sunshine, no unnatural medications, hormones or stimulants. It is not all about the money. It is a philosophy, a paradigm of returning to a simpler, more stress-free life for the family, farm and future.

In 2005, Mark McKusick convinced H.P. Hood to look to Maine for a source of organic milk. Two companies, Horizon Organics and Organic Valley Coop., had been in the state since the mid-1990's, paying roughly $19 CWT for about 10 years. Mark could see that a third party would stir up some competition and, perhaps, make a price advantage for Maine organic producers. It worked. Our farm started shipping organic milk to Hood in July of 2006 at a price of $24.50 CWT, or about $5.00 over what it had been for roughly ten years. More increases were promised and some came. The other processors had to bring their prices in line with H.P. Hood, who stated that they wanted to be the “price leader in the organic market.” They wanted most of their milk to come from Maine. They stuck their neck out at Mark's urging, and went to Washington County to pick up four family farms and also to Aroostook County, doing the same. It wasn't viable, but it would be; the potential was there.

Aaron Bell of Tide Mill Organic Farm in Edmunds, ME was H.P. Hood's poster child for this new generation of family farms. With a history of six generations on the same land, this Downeast farm had not sold milk since Aaron was born. The farm started selling to Hood the day Aaron's son was born, bringing hope to aspiring farmers in Washington County where there hadn't been a dairy farm in nearly thirty years.

In February of 2009, H.P. Hood, in a certified letter, informed Aaron that his organic milk contract would not be renewed…nor will the contracts of the other Washington County farms…nor will those of the farms in Aroostook County. Eight family farms currently find themselves without a market when H.P. Hood had gone after them as producers, promising everything but a termination letter. “You can feel good about Hood”…NOT!

Less than a month later, two other producers in Central Maine were notified that their contracts would be terminated on October 1st, 2009, a six month notice. Mark McKusick and Richard Larry, the two producers who had worked so hard to get Hood into the area now find themselves cut off. They are very forthright with their opinions and everybody knows where they stand. They had not been quiet regarding Hood's about-face to its farmers.

Our farm was wooed by Hood to renew our contract with them in July of 2008, but at a lower price than my earlier contract had paid. I chose to go with Organic Valley and terminated my relationship with Hood.

H.P. Hood has gone back on its word to the organic family farms of Maine. They told us a story to get us to sign with them. Once we signed a contract, when renewal came up, they wanted us to be puppies, to “rollover” and sacrifice for the good of H.P. Hood.

Hood's organic is labeled under the trade name of “Stoneyfield Milk.” For the solidarity of the Maine daily industry, Maine farmers as a group, and the citizens of this great state, please join me and my family as we organize to boycott all Stoneyfield milk and H.P. Hood labeled products until our voices are heard.

Fred Sherburne
Maine Dairy Farmer

Dad making music

 

Sometimes the best times are home with family and friends!!!
Dad has broken out his harmonica and been playing at our little home parties along with friends with guitars, the washboard, spoons and even the bass champagne bottle!
Have around 10 or so people and laugh until your cheeks hurt.

Dexter Town Council Resolution

RESOLUTION B2009-1 JANUARY 8, 2009

WHEREAS, the Governor has proposed in his latest budget message that the Charleston Correctional Facility have its operations be reduced in the next biennium, specifically that the facility be reduced to no more than 90 inmates, and that all other inmates be transferred to jails without access to work programs; and

WHEREAS, this reduction of the Charleston Correctional Facility will have the effect of curtailing the work release programs presently being run at the facility; and

WHEREAS, upwards of 40,000 hours of service to non-profit organizations and municipalities were provided to our area in 2008 by the work programs of Charleston Correctional Facility, and these services provided benefits to our communities in the form of saving property tax costs, construction of facilities for area non-profit organizations and training and rehabilitation to inmates that are and have been valuable in ways that would offset any perceived savings at this site;

THEREFORE the Dexter Town Council hereby opposes the specific budget cuts being proposed for the Charleston Correctional Facility, and asks the representatives of Dexter residents in the State legislature to oppose these cuts, and asks the Governor to reconsider his proposal.


Roger S. Brawn
Erlfred W. Sherburne
Judy Wilbur Craig, Councilor
David Clukey, Councilor
Sherman G. Leighton, Councilor
Anton Larson, Councilor
Dean R. Thompson, Councilor

Charleston Correctional Facility

Fellow Councilors, DRDC, friends and bloggers:
Tom Sands of Charleston Correctional called me Tuesday to ask that we and anyone we can get to help to call or email the Criminal Justice Committee who will have a say on the Supplemental Budget hearing going on today and tomorrow.
I have emailed all the people on the Justice Committee with the email below, as well as others who might listen.
Please, if you feel that the closing is bad, please contact anyone you might know who can help.
thanks.... Judy
For more information check out Diana Bowley's BDN story
--- the email I sent out is below---

Dear ________,

RE: Charleston Correctional Facility

The Town of Dexter is very unhappy that a housing unit in the Charleston Correctional Facility will be closed if this Supplemental Budget is passed as presented.

Dexter has utilized the CCF crews for both municipal projects as well as non-profit organizations, which save our town thousands of dollars over the past few years.

I have seen the CCF crews at work (when they were working at the Police Station this summer) and they do a great job and are very courteous. It would be a pity that these men would no longer be getting job experience while being incarcerated.

With the closing of this unit, many of Dexter's residents who work at CCF will loose their jobs.

Please take this “Corrections” portion of the Proposed Supplemental Budget to Balance the Current Fiscal Year, and place in the Biennium Budget.

To pass as presented seems very ‘short sighted’ in the scheme things. Long term, it would appear that the State of Maine will be no further ahead financially, but the rural citizens and inmates will be the losers.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter! It is very important to the Town of Dexter as well as the surrounding communities.

Judy Wilbur Craig
Dexter Town Councilor
President of Dexter Regional Development Corporation
207.924.3067