Meeting — Annual Meeting in Rockport Nov 12

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Our November meeting is our Annual meeting held at the State of Maine Cheese Co. where we took care of official business and elected board members and officers. Congratulations to the Guild Members elected to the board:

–Eric Rector, Monroe Cheese Studio (four year term)
–Mark Whitney, Pineland Farms Creamery (four year term)
–Heidi Kingelhofer, Five Islands Farm (four year term)
–Sarah Spring, Spring Day Creamery (four year term)
–Jean Koons, Kennebec Cheesery (to the remaining two years on a four year term)
–Heather Donahue, Balfour Farm (to the remaining year on a four year term)

Both Eric Rector and Mark Whitney were re-elected to President and Treasurer respectively.

Beginning Women Farmers Classes Start Nov 4

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Alison and a Nigerian Dwarf Goat kidSponsored by the Maine Women’s Agricultural Network, and funded by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, the Beginning Women Farmers program draws on the work of Allen Savory and others to help women farmers to be successful.

This innovative program instructs participants on using a holistic approach to decision making on their farms. Participants will meet for ten sessions on topics such as goal setting, financial, business, and marketing planning, land and infrastructure planning, soil fertility, and planned grazing.

Participants are provided with a mentor and are connected with a network of other beginning women farmers throughout the Northeast for additional support. Two of the classes take place on local farms.

Classes will be held in Fairfield, Maine, on Sundays from 9 – 4. Cost for all sessions is $150.00 – $500.00, based on a sliding scale Scholarships are available.

Class subject matter and dates:

Orientation and overview of holistic management November 4, 2012
Holistic goal and testing decisions November 18, 2012
Financial Planning 1 December 9, 2012
Financial Planning 2 January 6, 2012
Business Planning January 20, 2012
Marketing February 3, 2013
Leadership and Communication March 3, 2013
Land Planning April 7, 2013
Soil Fertility May 5, 2013
Grazing Planning June 2, 2013

For more information, and to request an application, contact:
Gail Chase gchase@kvcog.org
207 453-4258 ext. 218

Cheese with a Drawl

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A friend passed along a nice article detailing the state of artisanal cheese in Georgia. Best known of them is Sweet Grass Dairy (winner of multiple awards at the ACS), but it turns out that there are many similar creameries in the state, and more every year.

[Pictured to the left: The Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) is a bird in the family Mimidae, which also includes the New World catbirds and mockingbirds. The dispersal of the Brown Thrasher is abundant throughout the eastern and central United States, southern and central Canada, and is the only thrasher to live primarily east of the Rockies and central Texas. It is the state bird of Georgia. Photo courtesy of Dan Pancamo Photography under CC-Attribution-Share Alike licensing.]