First snow on the farm

Sam(antha) M. Burns is a wildlife conservationist and author at the Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm in New Portland, Maine. For more than 25 years, Burns has practiced self-sufficiency skills like gardening, animal husbandry, beekeeping, baking and scratch-cooking. Prior to buying her farm in 2018, Burns worked for 5 years in the Call Center at Johnny’s Selected Seeds, served her community as president of the local beekeepers' club, and managed her local farmers' market. A passionate advocate for wildlife conservation─particularly beneficial insects like pollinators and soil organisms─Burns practices methods of conservation agriculture through her work as a farmer. In 2020, Burns secured a conservation easement through the USDA & NRCS that will protect her ecological reserve for the next 50 years.