The Press Herald has written an article about The Hop Yard, a Maine-based hop farm.
The four principal players in the Hop Yard, already growing hops in Gorham and Fort Fairfield, hope to expand hops farming in Maine by buying a hops harvester, at least for their own use, and a hops pelletizer that could be used – for a fee – by any hops grower in Maine.
The Portland Phoenix has published an article about Miyake Farms.
The pigs make a racket, squealing and grunting, anticipating another meal, as we gingerly approach on paths of melting snow and ice. I’m in Freeport, where chef Masa Miyake has turned his Freeport backyard into a full-fledged hog farm; farm manager Emily Phillips built paddocks for the pigs and moved them closer to the house for the winter.
South Portland is considering changing the location and day of the week for the city’s farmers market.
After a summary of an online market survey created and tabulated by city resident Ruth Price, farmers market association director Caitlin Jordan said she will check with vendors about operating the market on Sundays instead of Thursdays.
Several councilors, meanwhile, suggested moving the market from Hinckley Drive to the nearby City Hall parking lot off Thomas Street.
Today’s Press Herald Food & Dining section includes an article about how home cooks and restaurants are dealing with the lack of Maine shrimp,
With so many people pining for the tiny crustaceans, I thought it would be interesting to see if there are still any frozen shrimp out there from the 2013 season for consumers to snap up before they’re gone for good. I also checked in with some Maine restaurants to see what they will be offering on their menus as an alternative to Maine shrimp.
an article about the mayor’s local food initiative,
A task force convened by Mayor Michael Brennan in 2012 is moving forward with a number of initiatives aimed at giving the city’s residents more opportunities to eat local and nutritious food. While the urban farm and flock of sheep are only in the discussion phase, work is underway to make school lunch more popular by cooking with local foods and to increase the number of community garden plots.
and a collection of reader responses to Meredith Goad’s January 1 article about her hopes for the food scene in 2014.
Today’s Press Herald includes an article by Avery Yale Kamila on the new Winter Farmers Market in East Bayside.
She attributes the increased sales to the fact that shoppers can purchase baked goods and prepared foods from the food hub tenants.
“It’s more social,” said Pignatello, an herbalist who also runs the Swallowtail Farm Cottage Apothecary in the food hub. “People can still get their really high-quality farm food and have a coffee and buy a bagel. Everyone benefits – the (food hub) businesses and the farmers alike.”
The Root has posted a report on the Ocean Approved kelp farm in Casco Bay.
Kelp is a winter crop, it grows best when the water is cold and sunlight is low. Dobbins commented on how resilient and adapted to the Maine environment the kelp is. “We left some surplus 1mm long kelp sporelings lying in the snow on a dock during a seeding day,” he said. “At the end of the day, we threw them in the back of an open pickup, drove about an hour back to our nursery and just to see what would happen, put them back in a tank. They thrived and were out planted in the open ocean about a week later. Nature is determined that this species is going to survive.”
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 Hop Yard, a Maine-based hop farm, is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise $54,000 to purchase of an important piece of equipment: a hop pelletizer. They’ve gotten off to a good start with 48 donors and have two and half weeks left to raise the bulk of the goal.
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.”
Kate McCarty has written an interesting article for the Portland Phoenix about the Small Axe food truck and the chefs’ use of local farms and purveyors when sourcing ingredients for their menu.
The meat, fish, dairy, and produce Small Axe serves is all from local sources, drawing on Deuben’s and Leavy’s longstanding relationships with nearby purveyors. Small Axe’s vegetables come from two farms, one in particular that focuses on unusual varieties appealing to chefs: Green Spark Farm. Deuben first noticed the attractive display of Green Spark Farm’s produce at the Portland farmers’ market while shopping for Miyake’s tasting menu. He was further drawn to the farm for the varieties of produce growing there, in particular Asian greens and cabbages like totsoi and red choi.
McCarty is also the author of The Blueberry Files. This piece is the first of a monthly column she’ll be writing for the Portland Phoenix.