By Abigail W. Adams
Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District Coordinator Hildy Ellis (right) presents the Cooperator of the Year Award to Sheepscot General farm and store owners Taryn and Ben Marcus at the district’s annual banquet in North Nobleboro Thursday, Nov. 13. The ceremony honored the contributions of many area conservation leaders. (Abigail Adams photo) |
The Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District has hosted an annual awards banquet to celebrate the difficult work and enormous contributions local leaders have made in the
field of environmental conservation for approximately 40 years.
This year Ben and Taryn Marcus, of Sheepscot General farm and store in Whitefield, were honored with the Cooperating Conservation Farm of the Year award at North
Nobleboro Community Hall Thursday, Nov. 13.
“We started this event to recognize local people that have done outstanding conservation work,” Mark Hedrich, chair of the Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation
District Board of Supervisors, told The Lincoln County News as banquet attendees and honorees filtered into the hall. “It’s, also, an opportunity to bring people
together.”
The Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District was established in 1947 following legislation that was created in response to the Dust Bowl. After destructive
agricultural practices in the 1930s eroded most of the soil in the Midwest, soil and water conservation became a national priority.
The Knox-Lincoln district is one of 16 districts throughout the state that work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Farm Service Agency to provide
technical assistance in conservation practices to local farms and property owners.
“We’re here to help farmers and municipalities so that future generations will have continued access to water and agricultural resources,” Hedrich said. “We want to
keep agriculture viable and make sure that the next generation will have a good and wholesome food supply.”
The work of Ben and Taryn Marcus was honored this year for the conservation practices they have embodied at Sheepscot General.
“We were surprised to be recognized so early on,” Ben Marcus said about Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water District’s decision. “We’re really just a small farm trying to make
it work.”
Ben, a Whitefield native, and Taryn, from Chelsea, Mich., met while studying ecological agriculture at Evergreen State College in Washington. The couple settled in
Whitefield in 2010 and began to grow organic strawberries on a single acre of what was formerly Uncas Farm on Townhouse Road.
Four seasons in, the couple has earned a distinction as one of the only organic strawberry farms in Maine. They have added a much-anticipated pick-your-own option to
their strawberry harvest, expanded their farm land to 5 acres and their crops to include mixed vegetables, and, in 2011, opened the Sheepscot General store.
The Sheepscot General store not only offers groceries and organic and natural produce year-round, it also provides a full-service café with wireless Internet access
and a community space that hosts events ranging from music to art to yoga to community meetings.
Hildy Ellis, the Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District coordinator, handed the Marcuses their award hailing them for their principles of biological farming
and community outreach.
“Even though they’re just getting started,” Ellis said, “we are very pleased to recognize their commitment to farming, community, and conservation.”
Ben and Taryn Marcus were two of a number of individuals honored at the banquet. Mary Thompson, of Union, a former district conservationist with the Department of
Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Services, received a standing ovation when she was handed the Lifetime Achievement in Promoting Conservation in Agriculture award.
Husband Mark Thompson shared her spotlight with the Special Recognition for Natural Resource Conservation award.
Irene Hawes, of Union, was given the Lifetime Achievement in Conservation Education award; Brett Willard, of Rockport, won the Excellence in Conservation Education
award; Cheryl Denz, of Appleton, was given the Promoting Agricultural Awareness award; and Larry Thornburg, of Richmond, was given the District Volunteer of the Year award.
In addition to the honorees, the banquet included a hearty dinner of pot roast, stuffed squash, mashed potatoes, farm-fresh carrots, coleslaw, and a seemingly
endless variety of pies, all handmade by members of the North Nobleboro Community Association.
Hildy Ellis and Rebecca Jacobs spoke about the Knox-Lincoln Soil & Conservation District’s educational outreach and technical assistance programs the previous year.
Peter Abello, district conservationist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation District, gave a report about passage of the 2014
Farm Bill and the resulting financial assistance programs that are now available to area farmers for conservation practices.
Two farms in Lincoln County are participating in the Agricultural Management Assistance Program.
Duncan McSweeney, sales manager of Backyard Farms in Madison, brought the evening to a close with a speech about the business philosophy and operation that is
fueling the production of fresh, ripe, hand-picked tomatoes year-round.
“This is not a depressing job,” McSweeney said when talking about the experience of entering into Backyard Farms’ greenhouses in the dead of winter.
For Sheepscot General Farm, despite diversification of crops, organic strawberries continue to be the focus. Marcus said the work of growing organic strawberries is
difficult, and farmers tend to avoid it because of the pests and diseases that threaten the crop.
“I hope I’ve convinced other people to do it,” he said, “because I can’t support the market that’s out there for it alone.”
