Meeting: May 5 at Little Falls Farm in Harrison

Our May meeting was held at Little Falls Farm in Harrison. Although they are tucked away in the foothills of Western Maine this is a unique dairy that is well worth any length of drive to visit. Mary and John Belding raise a small herd of certified organic dairy goats on their little patch of fields and woods along the Crooked River. They make a *truly* farmstead product — a single variety of hard aged goat cheese called Riffle that is certified 100% organic because all ingredients besides the salt come from their farm, an excellent example of the breadth of varieties of cheeses made in Maine.

There was a presentation from David Mathieu (www.cheesesociety.org/david-mathieu-clauger-north-america), representative of Clauger North America. They are a French company recommended to us by Michael Kalish. They are involved in atmospheric controls at a new cheese cave in Crown Heights, NY.

We also had a presentation for a web site redesign that we will be considering for 2014.


Exhibit at the Big E in 2014

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry would like to invite interested organizations to apply for exhibiting opportunities this September in the State of Maine Building at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The State of Maine building currently has 2 remaining exhibit locations and will be accepting applicants for these remaining locations until Friday, March 28th.

Over the course of the 17 day fair in 2013, the Big E fairgrounds had over 1.4 Million visitors from New England and surrounding areas. An estimated 850,000 visitors tour the Avenue of States where each New England State has its own building; including the State of Maine which is dedicated to selling and promoting Maine and its culture. This is a great opportunity to showcase products or services that positively represent the State of Maine to a large audience, with two booth size options including 13’x10’ and 13’x20’ measurements.

Please visit our website for application materials and more details on this opportunity. Contact us at 287-3494 with any questions you might have on exhibiting at the Big E. Please feel free to share this notification with any party that may be interested in this unique opportunity.

Thank you for your interest in promoting the State of Maine!

Sincerely,

Jessica Nixon
Promotions Coordinator
Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Agricultural Resource Development Division