News

This page contains the most recent news about the farm. We'll try to move the older stuff into the Archive page regularly.

Most Recent to Oldest

• April 7, 2010 - Portland CSA Drop Off
  Location To Be Determined
  We are happy to announce that we will have a CSA drop off point in Portland during the 2010 summer CSA season. Freeport is a long way to travel for our Portland area members. Our Portland membership has grown to where a Portland drop is now feasible for us. Please go to our CSA and Portland Drop page for more information.
• February 13, 2010 - World Television Premier
  Fresh to Flavorful
  Join Lisa and I at the Frontier Cafe in Brunswick, Maine on February 13, 2010 at 11:00am to experience the World Television Premier of "Fresh To Flavorful," a great new cooking show on MPBN hosted by Cynthia Finnemore Simonds, a local author of several amazing cookbooks highlighting local food products. You'll be able to watch the premier on a big screen TV with fellow foodies from around the Midcoast area. The premier episode will feature Laughing Stock Farm vegetables along with spectacular products from Ducktrap River Smoked Fish and Coffee By Design gourmet coffee.
• February 2010 - Announcement
  Laughing Stock Farm has a new web site
  It has been a long time coming, and it is way overdue, but it has finally arrived. You are currently viewing Laughing Stock Farm's new web site. I've learned all about cascading style sheets; dynamic web templates; embedding objects like video, maps, and calendars; you name it. The site is rewritten from the ground up to take advantage of the latest web technologies. Still, we've tried to maintain the same look and feel of the old site because we've received lots of compliments about our site since we first published in in 2000.  Please take some time and look at some of the new features.
  There is a cool interactive map on the Directions page.
  There is a Member Bulletin Board in the CSA section.
  There is a Member Events Calendar in the News section.
  And there is video of the biodiesel plant that Ralph built in Pennsylvania a few years ago on  the Biodiesel page in the Renewables Section.
  Let us know what you think.
• February 2010 - Announcement
  Appointment to State FSA Committee
  In early February it was finally announced that Ralph was named as one of five members of the State Farm Services Agency (FSA) committee for Maine.  This is a White House appointment that coincides which each President's administration that took almost a year to be decided.   FSA is one of the largest agencies of the USDA and manages a huge range of programs that help to support agriculture and rural communities nationwide. Follow this link to the FSA web site to read about the mission and goals of this vital organization.
• January 2010 - Article in "Downeast" Magazine
  Eat Like a Mainer
  This article, subtitled "31 people, places, and dishes not to miss in 2010", is mostly about restaurants, chefs, and dishes that should not be missed when visiting Maine. Lisa was named as Number 28. She was selected because so many of the restaurants in the article credited her with supplying the some of the fresh ingredients so vital to their success. Follow this link to the Downeast article
• January 2010 - Announcement
  Election to MESAS Board of Directors
  At the annual meeting of the Maine Sustainable Agriculture Society (MESAS), Ralph was elected to a 2 year term on its board of directors. The mission of the Society is "To explore, develop and promote agricultural systems and practices that allow Maine farmers to retain a greater share of consumer expenditures for farm products. This will be accomplished by developing methods to reduce the need for, and cost of, purchased inputs and by adding value to farm production." This is the single most important aspect of farming in Maine today. To increase markets for farm products, it is vital to improve efficiencies that will allow farmers to lower costs. Lower costs for local products will directly lead to increased markets.
• December 2009 - Announcement
  Election to Freeport Chamber of Commerce Board Directors
  As many of you may be aware, there has been an effort under way for some time to establish a viable Chamber of Commerce in Freeport. Lisa was elected to serve on the Interim Board and on the Bylaws committee to develop a mission and the bylaws that will govern the Chamber going forward. We support this effort in the hopes that it will lead to a mechanism whereby local business people can meet regularly and discuss issues of importance to all of us.
• December 2009 - Article in "Maine Ahead" Magazine
  Oil For Food
  This article in the premier issue of Maine Ahead magazine highlights the heating system that we are currently using to heat our greenhouses. We collect used cooking oil and animal fats from local restaurants, clean it, and burn it for space heating. This article is currently available on line at Maine Ahead! You will need to register to access the article, but there is no fee. We also have a copy of the magazine and would be very happy to let you borrow it if you'd like. Also visit our Renewable page for a detailed look at our system.