Do you like to eat local food, from a farm near you? Do you want the satisfaction of knowing you helped to keep a small Maine farm sustainable?

I’d like to share my story-- the story of Winterberry Farm in Belgrade, Maine.

We started this farm seven years ago. “We” is my three kids and me-- we all work together to create this incredible balance we have between the animals, the produce, and each other. Visitors to the farm are always amazed to see this balance in action.

For one thing, we grow food not just for ourselves but for 75 local families-- it’s called CSA (community supported agriculture). We use our team of horses and a pair of steer for the heavy work and garden work. We raise sheep for wool, which we spin and dye and knit into socks, The socks are sold at our farmstand, which also has a commercial kitchen. This is where we make pies, breads, soups, jams and pickles using some of the produce that we grow and sell to the year round residents as well as summer folks of the Belgrade area. Oh, and one more thing! We have amazing flower and herb gardens where you can pick your own, and that we use to create beautiful bouquets for events including weddings.

This farm came to be in 1870, originally a small dairy farm. The cream was made into butter, and delivered daily to Belgrade depot to be transported south where it was sold. Later, the farm was known for its lamb and corn. Then it laid dormant for two decades before our family took it over, giving it a chance to shine again as it originally did. It is once again providing its owners a way of life and an opportunity to earn a living by growing and selling what is produced on the farm soil, with no outside income.

In recognition and return for what this farm has provided for generations, our family would like to give back to the farm easement of all its development rights. That’s right-- we want it to be protected as a forever farmland, for every future generation to be able to farm this soil and never fear that it will be lost to make way for development.

In order for my kids and me to accomplish this, we need the support of others who feel as we do. So we are asking for donations from friends and family and everyone who would like to help. In return for your donation, we will send you back as a small token of our appreciation a gift from the farm. If you know my children and me, you are already aware of how important protecting this farm is to us. We have given the soil our blood, sweat and tears-- and our farm has not only nurtured us, it has been a safe haven. For us to protect this farm forever is literally a dream come true.

So please consider helping us, and preserving this rural Maine way of life. Winterberry Farm is an important resource to this small lakeside community in central Maine. We simply can not afford to lose even one farm, anywhere.

Sincerely, Mary Perry
Winterberry Farm