Whether we are tackling questions like “How to strengthen the local food system” in Custer and Lemhi County Idaho or “How to create more equitable land access for producers while supporting added enterprises on the landscape” in North Central Montana or “How to create more housing opportunities to support the rural community, which the surrounding working lands depend on” in Petroleum County Montana, we are ultimately bringing together those that care for a place and asking them for the solution.
WORKING FARMS IN MAINE
As the average age of working landowners increases and younger generations increasingly choose jobs and lives in more urban or populated areas, the rural landscape is changing. And just as often as these changes present challenges, they present opportunities. While in Maine this spring, we visited two working farms that have addressed these types of challenges with creativity, making each challenge an opportunity to build community and connection around working lands: Wolfe’s Neck in Freeport and Aldermere Farm in Rockport.
ORGANIC DAIRY TOUR
As part of the Grassfed Exchange conference in Santa Rosa, California, we had the fortunate opportunity to learn more about the business of dairies that graze cattle in pasture and sell organic milk while touring two family-owned dairies, McClelland Dairy and Beretta Dairy.