March 31, 2010 by Heather.

On Friday, March 26, 2010, the New York Times published an article by Katie Zezima titled “Push to Eat Local Food Is Hampered by Shortage.” What’s this shortage hampering local food you ask? Slaughterhouses. There just aren’t enough of them to go around anymore.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the number of slaughterhouses nationwide declined to 809 in 2008 from 1,211 in 1992, while the number of small farmers has increased by 108,000 in the past five years.  

The article is full of compelling information and personal accounts. Like this tidbit:

Brian Moyer, director of Rural Vermont, a nonprofit farm advocacy group, uses the image of an hourglass. “At the top of the hourglass we’ve got the farmers,” he said, “the bottom part is consumers and in the middle, what’s straining those grains of sand, is the infrastructure that’s lacking.” 

 And one of the hardest things to swallow is that everyone says we need more slaughterhouses, but harldy anyone wants one near them. On the upside, mobile units, which have been used mostly for poultry, are beginning to be used with larger animals.

Click here for the full article.

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March 31, 2010 by Heather.

Check your calendars for the weekend of April 17 and 18, 2010. Jenness Farm, in Nottingham, is holding its Spring Open House/Open Farm from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. both days. There will be lots for both young and old. Special attractions included in the weekend are new piglets, baby goats, Rhun the Frisbee dog, the chicks are scheduled to hatch, and maybe some lambs. 

Bring a picnic lunch and come with any questions you may have. And don’t be afraid to ask them!

Visit Jenness Farm’s website for more details. 

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March 31, 2010 by Heather.

On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, the Maine Department of Marine Resources issued its first clam flat closure of the 2010 season. The closure comes a month earlier than usual, as it’s typically open to the end of April. According to an article by Susan Morse of Seacoast Online:

“I don’t think it will be too much longer that we’ll have additional closures for mussels,” said Darcie Couture, director of the Biotoxin Monitoring Program for the state. “It’s lining up to be a very bad year.”

Couture blames the early closure on the unusually warm weather this year. The article relates that the department

banned the harvesting of surf and hen clams, which are bigger than the traditional steamers, in certain coastal areas such as Harpswell. The state also closed the harvesting of mussels in Brunswick and of carnivorous snails in some areas.

Additionally, due to high bacteria counts caused by flooding, the York flats are closed for digging steamers. State test were scheduled to confirm or deny the reopening of the flats for Sunday. The flats were only planned to be open through April 25, 2010.

To read the full article, click here.

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