Weekly Interview "John Bliss and Stacy Brenner" (Printed Dec. 15)
By Zack Anchors
Staff Writer
Stacy Brenner and John Bliss, the couple that for three years operated a Community Supported Agriculture program and “Farm Camp” at Turkey Hill Farm in Cape Elizabeth, have moved on. But although they have left the farm, they have not dropped their commitment to agriculture at all. They are leaving behind the rocky soil and cramped fields of Cape for bigger and better pastures where they believe their agricultural ambitions are more likely to be fulfilled. The Scarborough Land Conservation Trust has selected them as the tenants of the 434-acre, rich-soiled Broadturn Farm near the Buxton border, and though they say they will miss their Cape friends, they are excited to at the great potential they see on their new farm.
John and Stacy and their two children are now moved into an old farmhouse on the Broadturn farm that they overhauled with the SCLT’s help. They’ve been busy lately—along with fixing up and settling into their new home, they’ve had to finish up the harvest at the Turkey Hill Farm and just recently had their second child. Their overall goal at their new home, they said in an interview at the farm last week, is to continue what they have been doing in Cape– promoting sustainable living in a way that builds community.
“People have an idea that buying sustainably and locally is all about buying produce—but that’s only the tip of the iceberg,” said John.
At the Broadturn Farm next season, residents of Scarborough and other towns will be able to buy poultry, lamb, and pork, as well as fresh produce. But just as importantly, said Stacy, people will be encouraged to get actively involved on the farm--volunteering to help weed or harvest, dropping off their children at Farm Camp to learn where the food they eat comes from, and just generally coming to think of the farm as a community resource.
“It’s about finding how we can make this a viable business and still make it feel like a community,” John said.
The central focus of the Broadturn Farm will be the CSA program, which will allow people to sign up for an entire season’s worth of vegetables from the farm. Since moving to Maine six years ago, John and Stacy have run two different CSA programs--one at Turkey Hill Farm and before that, one on Sunrise Acres Farms in Cumberland.
A CSA model, said John, makes the business of running a farm much more practical for the farmer and the customer.
“Traditionally, a farmer would need all this capital to invest in seeds and everything,” said John. “It’s a huge risk.”
When a farmer invests a substantial sum of money in their farm each year, John said, they then have to count on selling enough of their harvest to make investment back. If they can’t, then the next season they won’t have any money to put back into the crops.
“Obviously, from the way small farms have been disappearing in the last few decades, it’s a model that doesn’t work,” said John. “We need to figure out alternative business models.”
The main advantage of a CSA model is that it allows the farmers to plan out their growing season during the spring, so they can then focus on growing in the following months.
“We’ll know how many shares the garden is going to have to provide for,” said John. “All those costs are apparent in the early part of the season.”
At Sunrise Farms, the CSA Stacy and John ran had about 100 members at one point, while Turkey Hill had around 50. Eventually they hope the Broadturn Farm CSA will have a comparable size to Sunrise Farm.
“There’s a lot to getting the farm off the ground in the first couple of years--there’s lots of construction,” said John. “We’re gonna shoot for 50, but within a few years we’d like to hit 100.”
One reason Stacy and John are optimistic about Broadturn Farm’s potential, and one reason they left Cape Elizabeth to move there, is the soil.
“In Cape Elizabeth we spent a lot of time digging out stones,” said Stacy. “This soil here is a lot better than in Cape.”
Only a few years ago, before the SCLT bought the property, a family that had been farming the land there for generations occupied the Broadturn Farm.
“They were a pretty typical old-generation farming family,” said John. “The young generation didn’t want to continue on with it. They had done row crops and dairy–most recently they had poultry. ... When you find an old farm today that’s still in production, that indicates to me that the soil is pretty good and that there is still an opportunity there.”
The high quality of the soil was also what led the SCTL to come up with the idea of trying to preserve the agricultural heritage of the land. The original purpose of purchasing the property was to prevent development and maintain open space with trails, but after an agricultural expert visited the farm, the SCLT realized the farm could have a greater potential.
“This woman told them, ‘This is prime soil--this should be farmed,’” said Stacy.
The SCLT decided to establish a farming easement, fix up the old farmhouse for a farm family to live in, and rent the site out to some committed farmers.
“They put a call for proposals out last year,” said Stacy. “We spent all winter making up a business plan and writing up a proposal.”
Along with John and Stacy, another family of farmers, the Snells, were selected by the SCLT to farm on the property, which they had already been doing for years. The SCLT still has plans to build trails on the property too, though they may be a few years away.
Stacy and John are expecting that some of their old friends and customers from Cape will come visit them at the Broadturn Farm, but they have mixed feelings about encouraging them to become regulars there. Driving a car that far for food isn’t really in line with the idea of promoting sustainability, John said. Stacy suggested that some people might come together to establish weekly car pools to pick up produce. Right now, though, Stacy and John are focusing on building connections in their new neighborhood, which is much more rural than Cape Elizabeth.
“Since we moved in most of our interactions have been with hunters who have wanted to use the property to hunt on,” said Stacy. “That’s been nice, because these are people we probably wouldn’t usually get the chance to meet.”
Staff Writer
Stacy Brenner and John Bliss, the couple that for three years operated a Community Supported Agriculture program and “Farm Camp” at Turkey Hill Farm in Cape Elizabeth, have moved on. But although they have left the farm, they have not dropped their commitment to agriculture at all. They are leaving behind the rocky soil and cramped fields of Cape for bigger and better pastures where they believe their agricultural ambitions are more likely to be fulfilled. The Scarborough Land Conservation Trust has selected them as the tenants of the 434-acre, rich-soiled Broadturn Farm near the Buxton border, and though they say they will miss their Cape friends, they are excited to at the great potential they see on their new farm.
John and Stacy and their two children are now moved into an old farmhouse on the Broadturn farm that they overhauled with the SCLT’s help. They’ve been busy lately—along with fixing up and settling into their new home, they’ve had to finish up the harvest at the Turkey Hill Farm and just recently had their second child. Their overall goal at their new home, they said in an interview at the farm last week, is to continue what they have been doing in Cape– promoting sustainable living in a way that builds community.
“People have an idea that buying sustainably and locally is all about buying produce—but that’s only the tip of the iceberg,” said John.
At the Broadturn Farm next season, residents of Scarborough and other towns will be able to buy poultry, lamb, and pork, as well as fresh produce. But just as importantly, said Stacy, people will be encouraged to get actively involved on the farm--volunteering to help weed or harvest, dropping off their children at Farm Camp to learn where the food they eat comes from, and just generally coming to think of the farm as a community resource.
“It’s about finding how we can make this a viable business and still make it feel like a community,” John said.
The central focus of the Broadturn Farm will be the CSA program, which will allow people to sign up for an entire season’s worth of vegetables from the farm. Since moving to Maine six years ago, John and Stacy have run two different CSA programs--one at Turkey Hill Farm and before that, one on Sunrise Acres Farms in Cumberland.
A CSA model, said John, makes the business of running a farm much more practical for the farmer and the customer.
“Traditionally, a farmer would need all this capital to invest in seeds and everything,” said John. “It’s a huge risk.”
When a farmer invests a substantial sum of money in their farm each year, John said, they then have to count on selling enough of their harvest to make investment back. If they can’t, then the next season they won’t have any money to put back into the crops.
“Obviously, from the way small farms have been disappearing in the last few decades, it’s a model that doesn’t work,” said John. “We need to figure out alternative business models.”
The main advantage of a CSA model is that it allows the farmers to plan out their growing season during the spring, so they can then focus on growing in the following months.
“We’ll know how many shares the garden is going to have to provide for,” said John. “All those costs are apparent in the early part of the season.”
At Sunrise Farms, the CSA Stacy and John ran had about 100 members at one point, while Turkey Hill had around 50. Eventually they hope the Broadturn Farm CSA will have a comparable size to Sunrise Farm.
“There’s a lot to getting the farm off the ground in the first couple of years--there’s lots of construction,” said John. “We’re gonna shoot for 50, but within a few years we’d like to hit 100.”
One reason Stacy and John are optimistic about Broadturn Farm’s potential, and one reason they left Cape Elizabeth to move there, is the soil.
“In Cape Elizabeth we spent a lot of time digging out stones,” said Stacy. “This soil here is a lot better than in Cape.”
Only a few years ago, before the SCLT bought the property, a family that had been farming the land there for generations occupied the Broadturn Farm.
“They were a pretty typical old-generation farming family,” said John. “The young generation didn’t want to continue on with it. They had done row crops and dairy–most recently they had poultry. ... When you find an old farm today that’s still in production, that indicates to me that the soil is pretty good and that there is still an opportunity there.”
The high quality of the soil was also what led the SCTL to come up with the idea of trying to preserve the agricultural heritage of the land. The original purpose of purchasing the property was to prevent development and maintain open space with trails, but after an agricultural expert visited the farm, the SCLT realized the farm could have a greater potential.
“This woman told them, ‘This is prime soil--this should be farmed,’” said Stacy.
The SCLT decided to establish a farming easement, fix up the old farmhouse for a farm family to live in, and rent the site out to some committed farmers.
“They put a call for proposals out last year,” said Stacy. “We spent all winter making up a business plan and writing up a proposal.”
Along with John and Stacy, another family of farmers, the Snells, were selected by the SCLT to farm on the property, which they had already been doing for years. The SCLT still has plans to build trails on the property too, though they may be a few years away.
Stacy and John are expecting that some of their old friends and customers from Cape will come visit them at the Broadturn Farm, but they have mixed feelings about encouraging them to become regulars there. Driving a car that far for food isn’t really in line with the idea of promoting sustainability, John said. Stacy suggested that some people might come together to establish weekly car pools to pick up produce. Right now, though, Stacy and John are focusing on building connections in their new neighborhood, which is much more rural than Cape Elizabeth.
“Since we moved in most of our interactions have been with hunters who have wanted to use the property to hunt on,” said Stacy. “That’s been nice, because these are people we probably wouldn’t usually get the chance to meet.”
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