Nezinscot Farm: Turner, Maine – Where Medium is Perfect

The Goats of Nezinscot

I recently returned from a summer trip to Maine. One of my favorite stops along our journey was a small farm in Turner, Maine. Turner is a quintessential rural town with no stop lights, one school, and a rich dose of americana flowing through its veins. People here tend to work with their hands, awake with the sun and roosters. Nezinscot Farm is a 250 acre farm that produces organic vegetables, decadent cheeses, and healthy meat.

The Big Red Barn

Fresh is Key

Here’s their personal description of the farm – it makes you think you’re reading an American classic.

Gregg and Gloria have five children, all of whom participate in maintaining and running the family business. They pick eggs, milk cows and goats, feed the diverse animals of the farm, and help with the planting and harvesting of the many fresh vegetables grown there.

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Our continuing desire is to educate people on the importance of supporting local farms and to know where your food comes from. It’s with this goal in mind that we continue to maintain and encourage diverse and sustainable agricultural system for family farms as a way to keep them (and us) in business. Helping to keep Maine rural looking in landscape while at the same time helping to keep the family farms within that landscape, working.

Gloria, the Medium Farm Advocate

Mackenzie (Gloria 2.0) helps out tremendously at the Farm

Daily Bread

Some like it hot

I really loved our conversation with Gloria, who is a back-to-the-land advocate. She dearly loves what she does and understands the critical role of her being an advocate for medium sized farms. It’s funny to think how healthy lifestyles need advocates, but I understand now. As for-profit companies pour millions into products like cigarettes and allergy medicines and lite beers, the voice of wholism is quieted. Single product advertising distracts us from the larger circle of life. It robs the viewer of perspective, a sense of place and belonging. As our children get more and more steps estranged from “food on a plant”, we need to teach them some of the basics of the supply chain: the black dirt, the spring rains, and even the cow cakes are essential.

Local Alpaca Yarn!

Music Lessons Too!

... And more yarn.

We need not only more farmer’s markets, but we need more medium sized, local farms. Our unwillingness (as adults) to support farms will sadly most impact our kids. It will be their loss we’re cementing into history. Industrial farms are not the future of a healthy, creative, and caring America. Thank goodness for places like Nezinscot.