Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
Let me say first and foremost that Runamuk is not what I would yet consider a “profitable” farm, lol. Runamuk does contribute to the rent and to the purchasing of feed, equipment, supplies, and livestock─but a large part of our income is supplemented by my off-farm employment. Our finances here are tight, and as I’ve…
An acquaintance of mine emailed me recently asking how I can afford a farm, and how can you know what to do to be profitable? Those are two totally separate and totally loaded questions, so I am going to answer the first here, and the second one in a separate post. Lots of people are…
I excused myself from the farmers’ market yesterday to spend some quality time with the farm. Perhaps that sounds funny, but to this farmer there is a very real need to spend time outside in nature, working the land that I have devoted myself to. Having to work off the farm means that there are…
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been more than two weeks since Runamuk and I became residents of Starks. This was our third move in the last six months, and like all of the other moves there has been a period where I was once again without internet access. That, coupled with the business of…
I have to admit, I was getting more than just a little discouraged. After coming from a farm in the middle of the woods, living on a small lot alongside a busy road–while being a step up from the apartment in-town–was still a bit of a shock to my system. But the rent was low…
The Madison Farmers’ Market, held a meeting Saturday evening at the Old Point School in Madison, to finalize plans for our upcoming 2015 market season. I volunteer my time and efforts as the market manager, organizing, planning and promoting our young little market, and working to both serve local agriculture, farmers and farming in Madison…
No one gets into farming because they want to get rich, lol. But at the same time a farm is still a business, and a business needs to at least break even–if not earn a profit. Conducting a SWOT analysis of your farm-business annually can help you to determine what’s working for you and what’s…
This old 1950s Farmall tractor was donated to our farm–it took us a while to find someone to help us move it to the farm, but last Sunday it finally arrived! The tractor came with a number of attachments–including a plow, which I am ecstatic to say will help us keep our 200-yard driveway clear…
With the kids back in school, and the first blush of color spreading across the forest canopy, it’s time to think once again about winterizing the farm, garden or homestead. As a life-long Maine resident, I’ve seen my share of hard winters and can imagine what it might be like for newcomers to the northern…
Yesterday as I was preparing to head down to the field to work in the garden, I received a phone call–some locals over in Madison had seen my advertisement in Uncle Henry’s (the ad basically says that we’re looking for livestock in our area), and were we interested in a couple of goats? Goats are…