Open Farm Day in Maine

Have I mentioned that I have a little job now as a Freelance writer/blogger for the website Everythingfarm.com? Well I do, and I get paid a little to write two posts a month about raising a family that is conscientious of local farming. Since this is a very busy time in our lives, I am actually going to borrow one of the posts I wrote for that blog (with a lot more pictures) to share our Open Farm Day experience with you.

Sunday, July 21st was the state of Maine’s 24th annual Open Farm Day. This is a day when willing farms all across the state (this year there were over 75 farms) open their gates up to the public in order to educate people about the business of agriculture. Many farms have demonstrations, displays and farm-raised products for sale. Activities may include barn and field tours, milking, hay rides, animal petting, samples for tasting and refreshments. It is a somewhat rare and wonderful opportunity to peek into those local farms you’re curious about, especially if you have interest in a particular branch of farming and want a chance to ask questions from someone who makes a living from it.

My family took part in Open Farm Day by visiting two of our local farms. As one day we hope to raise goats on our property, I was excited when I saw that the Cashmere Cabin at Elmledge Farm was participating in Open Farm Day. This small farm raises cashmere goats from which they collect the fine undercoat of hair. We were able to ask the farmer a few questions and learned these goats are brushed every few weeks beginning at the end of summer, and each brushing session only produces about one ounce of yarn. That explains why cashmere is so expensive! Their next steps are to spin it into yarn to sell and make goods. They also had several angora rabbits on the farm that they brush to collect the fur for spinning, too. The finished yarn from both animals is wonderfully soft and pretty, but it certainly looks like a lot of work goes into just making a little bit. Plus, the fineness of both the goat and rabbit fur makes it more challenging to spin. We were able to watch one of the farmers actually spin some of the angora fur which I found very interesting and it made me want to go out and try to find a spinning class right away.

Cashmere goats

Angora rabbit

Angora rabbit

Yarn from Angora rabbits

Spinning angora fur

The second farm we visited was Long Plains Alpaca, where they raise a couple dozen alpacas for their wool. What makes this farm especially significant is that all of their wool is colored with natural dyes that they make mostly from plants harvested right from their farm. While we visited, we were able to learn all about the dying process: about what parts of the plants they use, how much plant material is needed, how the actual dyes are cooked, and how long it takes to dye the wool. We even got to see some of the wool being dyed in a variety of color baths. The finished yarn is luxuriously beautiful; I fell in love with all the variety of colors; no two skeins looked exactly the same. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the farmer and her adorable alpaca herd.

baby!

So funny looking!

Wool drying

Carding wool

Dying

They had a slide...that was Meo's favorite part

Our family learned so many interesting things about hand-spun wool at the Open Farm Day, and gained a deeper respect for the care and time that is put into creating natural fibers.