Four Maine farms receive $200K in grants to scale up wholesale operations

Courtesy / Blue Horse Photography Beth Schiller harvests tomatoes at Dandelion Spring Farm, in Bowdoinham. The farm in one of four across Maine that have been awarded $50,000 grants from the Maine Farmland Trust.

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By Staff

Four organic farms across the state on Monday were awarded a total of $200,000 from the Maine Farmland Trust to scale up their production for wholesale markets.

In a news release, the nonprofit said it has awarded $50,000 competitive grants to Dandelion Spring Farm, a vegetable and herb farm in Bowdoinham; Sheepscot Valley Farm, a dairy farm in Whitefield; the Milkhouse Dairy Farm & Creamery, a creamery in Monmouth; and South Paw Farm, a diversified vegetable farm in Freedom.

All four farms participated in Maine Farmland Trust's Farming for Wholesale program and worked with advisors to develop business plans for doing more wholesale business. Each recipient will use its own funding to match the grant, meaning that the farms will invest a total of $400,000 in new equipment and infrastructure.

Dandelion Spring Farm, owned and operated by Beth Schiller, said it will use the funds to build a pack shed and multi-purpose barn for greater storage and processing for winter wholesale crops. At Milkhouse Dairy, Caitlin Frame and Andy Smith will use their grant to make updates to the Milkhouse brand, packaging and farm equipment, including a larger tractor.

Annie Watson and Mike Moody of Sheepscot Valley Farm plan to use grant funds to retrofit their tie stall milking system into a parlor system, according to the news release. Meg and Ryan Mitchell of South Paw Farm will renovate its pack shed, and add a solar array and processing equipment.

Alex Fouliard, the trust's farm business planning co-manager, said, “This year’s awardees have created business plans that are responsive to the marketplace changes caused by COVID … [the recipients] are well-positioned to take advantage of new opportunities, and these investments in equipment, infrastructure and marketing will mean they can act on those opportunities right now.”

This is the fifth year that the Belfast-based Maine Farmland Trust has offered implementation grants to farmers participating in the Farming for Wholesale program as a way to help farmers strengthen Maine’s local food economy.