Meeting: Ag Trade Show Tuesday Jan 13

Posted on December 26, 2014January 25, 2015 by Monroe Cheese Studio

We held our January meeting at the Maine Agricultural Trade Show at the Augusta Civic Center on Tuesday, January 13th at 10am. There was a nice turn-out along with some fresh faces. Representatives from the Department of Ag were present to help answer licensing and inspection questions. There was a long discussion about membership benefits and outreach to members and non-members (especially licensed cheese making non-members). We also learned that Farms for Maine’s Future has decided to re-submit legislation allowing the sale of unlicensed dairy products during this legislative session. We decided to discuss this in-depth during our February meeting at Pineland Farms Creamery.

Meeting: June 16 at Appleton Creamery

Posted on June 10, 2014August 29, 2014 by President

Our next meeting will be held on June 16th at Appleton Creamery in Appleton, Maine. Caitlin Hunter is the founding President of the Guild and has been making and selling cheese in Maine for over twenty years, and what is more amazing is how she manages an entire milking herd of Alpine goats, has been training many young cheese makers many of whom go on to be hired by major US artisan cheese companies or they start their own award winning creameries, AND she continues to make award winning cheeses in a very tiny (but efficient) space on her small farm in the hills of Appleton. There is much to learn from her efforts, and from the cheese-driven life that she has created.

Caitlin adds: “the Maine AgraAbility folks coming to give a presentation about farming smart as we age. Just got my new hydraulic lift table to help move those pesky full buckets around. We will also have the pizza oven fired!”

Directions:

From the North:
Get on to Maine Rt. 131 heading south from Searsmont Village. After you pass the intersection with Rt. 105, drive another mile or two to the next left on Sennebec Rd. About a mile later continue straight-ish onto Sleepy Hollow Rd., go down across a small bridge then up and take your first right onto Gurneytown Rd. Appleton Creamery is less than a mile down the road on your right, clearly marked.

From the South:
Find Sennebec Rd. heading north off of Route 17 directly across from the intersection with Route 235. Drive north about three miles then take the RIGHT fork to get onto Gurneytown Rd. Appleton Creamery is a little more than a mile farther north on the left, clearly marked

I hope to see you there.

Meeting: Monday, Feb 17th in Winthrop

Posted on January 7, 2014February 21, 2014 by President

The Guild met at Wholesome Holmstead Farm in Winthrop on February 17th between 10am and 2pm.

After a tour of the cheese retail and production facility, followed by a tour of the dairy barn, milking parlor, and milk room, Jessica Nixon and John Harker discussed various State efforts to help Maine farms better market themselves, as well as for consumers to find specific farm products.

Thank you to the Whole Trenholm family for hosting us!