Forum Draws Organic Farmers And Fans

BLUE HILL—Three local icons of sustainable farming here and across the globe, spoke at a Community Forum at Blue Hill Public Library October 10, titled,

- Anne Berelant

“From Yeoman Farmer to Global Agriculture,” facilitated by Dr. Gregory Bush.

“How does the family farm and local organic production fit in with the community?” he asked.

Florence Reed, of Surry-based nonprofit Sustainable Harvest International; Heather Retberg, of Quill’s End Farm in Penobscot, and the Halcyon Grange in Blue Hill, and an advocate for local food sovereignty in Augusta; and Eliot Coleman, organic farming author, past advisor to the USDA, and owner of Four Seasons Farm in Harborside, all had answers of some kind.

Coleman was part of the 1960s and '70s “back-to-land” movement, buying a piece of the Scott and Helen Nearing Harborside property.