This story is a part of our collection “Local weather Pushed: A deep dive into Maine’s response, one county at a time.”
Sean O’Donnell began rising grains about 10 years in the past at Rusted Rooster Farm, 45 minutes north of Skowhegan on the border of Somerset and Piscataquis counties. He started on a small scale, utilizing grains as a canopy crop planted in rotation with different crops to enhance the well being of the soil.
He and his spouse now develop about 150 acres of natural grains together with Pink Fife Wheat, Winter Rye, oats, and barley. That’s up from round 40 acres simply 5 years in the past. O’Donnell credit this progress, partially, to Maine’s burgeoning grain economic system.
“It is rising increasingly more. I do not assume I might do what I used to be doing 10 years in the past, and that credit score goes to the grain economic system,” O’Donnell stated.
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However that regional grain economic system can be offering a buffer to excessive fluctuations in costs, crop failures and provide chain points linked to local weather change.
Sean O’Donnell, proprietor of Rusted Rooster Farm, and his household a number of years in the past.
“As we get thrown increasingly more extreme climate, we have to learn to have a profitable crop in all situations, and having that assured market and respectable profitability is big to have that resilience,” O’Donnell stated.
Actually, it’s already been put to the take a look at by one other international disaster. Throughout the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, many customers in Maine turned to a neighborhood Skowhegan grist mill, Maine Grains, to fulfill their flour wants.
“Flour ran out of the cabinets at grocery shops from industrial milling places as a result of there was a lag in large mills’ capability to maintain up with client want and demand. That was a resilient second for us, even simply having the regional provide chain and infrastructure,” stated Amber Lambke, co-founder and proprietor of Maine Grains. Lambke and her enterprise companion Michael Scholz began the operation in 2012 after buying the previous jail in Skowhegan and changing it to a grist mill.
Maine Grains processes flour, oats, wheat berries, rye, cornmeal, buckwheat and extra, and the merchandise are bought all through the state and northeast. The grains are additionally used for native malting and distilling, animal feed, and seed markets.
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Maine Grains grist mill facility in Skowhegan, Maine in Somerset County.
“Maine was thought-about the breadbasket of New England within the 19th century,” Lambke stated. And, she stated, Somerset County’s grain economic system has deep historic roots.
Somerset County was producing 239,000 bushels of wheat per yr at its peak in 1837, which was sufficient to feed greater than 100,000 individuals, Lambke stated.
“When you return to the late 1800s in Somerset County and central Maine, you had all types of grist mills dotting the countryside that have been taking domestically grown grain and milling them for [local use],” stated Tristan Noyes, government director of the Maine Grain Alliance, a nonprofit targeted on constructing the regional grain economic system throughout the state.
Grain farmers in Aroostook County have continued to develop grain for tons of of years, largely as cowl crops to help their extra profitable potato fields, however grain manufacturing in Somerset County and central Maine largely disappeared because the business centralized round large-scale manufacturing within the Midwest. The milling infrastructure was additionally misplaced over time, together with a lot of the information of develop grains, which the Maine Grain Alliance is now making an attempt to revive.
Emmer wheat throughout pollination. Richard Roberts, director of the Maine Grain Alliance Heritage Seed Restoration Challenge, planted this grain selection in Somerset County as a part of the Alliance’s seed restoration and develop out program.
Lambke and others fashioned the Alliance in 2007 by beginning the Kneading Convention, an annual gathering of grain farmers, bakers, brewers, millers and the general public every summer season in Skowhegan.
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The Somerset Grist Mill at Maine Grains is considered one of two native grist mills within the state which concentrate on processing natural grains; the opposite is Aurora Mills in Aroostook County
All informed, Maine grows about 50,000 acres of oats, barley and customary wheat yearly, in accordance with the USA Division of Agriculture’s most up-to-date census figures. A small, however rising, portion of that’s grown organically, Noyes stated. That’s helped create new markets and an rising demand for sustainable, domestically grown grains.
“What has been enabled by mills like Aurora Mills and Maine Grains in central Maine is that there isn’t a longer simply the one commodity market to which these grains will be bought, they are often bought into these native markets,” Noyes stated.
“Folks actually like the concept of consuming native. When you develop a neighborhood grain economic system, with relationships between farmers and processors, then you possibly can stabilize costs and supply some predictability for farmers when it comes to a worth and when it comes to quantity [that they can sell],” stated Ellen Mallory, a College of Maine Extension professor within the Faculty of Meals and Agriculture. She’s additionally on the board of Maine Grain Alliance and works with farmers to assist them meet the brand new financial alternatives with grain manufacturing.
Whereas massive agriculture manufacturing is extra environment friendly than some smaller scale operations, it tends to lack the power to adapt shortly to main international crises in the identical approach native markets can. As an example, the battle in Ukraine has impacted gasoline and fertilizer costs, disrupting meals provide chains.
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“That’s a part of the downfall of contemporary ag and the provision chain issues we’re seeing. You’re getting much more worth by staying native since you’re supporting that resilience,” O’Donnell stated. “The bigger provide chain is gonna have its issues when it has its issues, which has been very obvious these previous couple of years.”
A wheat crop rising in Somerset County. Richard Roberts plated this crop as a part of the Maine Grain Alliance’s seed restoration program.
More and more financial resiliency, biodiversity, ecological well being and energy in rural communities are extra vital as extreme climate occasions associated to local weather change develop into commonplace.
There are already examples of how Maine’s regional grain economic system can help farmers amid uncertainty from a warming local weather, Noyes stated. He factors to winter grains, that are planted within the fall, go dormant through the winter beneath a layer of snowpack, till they develop once more early within the spring. A number of years in the past there was an uncharacteristic thaw in the course of the winter that killed a farmer’s whole grain crop. Higher storage gear might have helped in that state of affairs, Noyes stated.
“When you have the infrastructure and you’ve got some good years, then through the unhealthy years you might be able to hold your grain for longer durations of time and assist to mitigate that,” Noyes stated.
So, for the final two years, the Maine Grain Alliance has been a part of a $200,000 effort to assist the post-harvest grain dealing with wants of seven main farms throughout the state, together with Rusted Rooster Farm, by offering the required gear to correctly retailer and handle grains.
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The Alliance can be pondering forward about what styles of grains could also be greatest suited to Maine’s future local weather by means of its Seed Restoration Program.
courtesy of Richard Roberts
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Richard Roberts loading a wheat harvest behind his truck in Somerset County as a part of the Maine Grain Alliance’s seed restoration and develop out program.
Richard Roberts of Soland, Maine leads this system. He crops small half or quarter acre plots round Somerset County and throughout the state.
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“Final yr we had 40 totally different styles of grain rising in about 4.5 acres round Maine,” Roberts stated. He doesn’t want a lot house – he works with native farmers, using small plots on their land to develop out the varieties and see how they do in Maine’s local weather. Noyes stated making a biodiverse seed provide in Maine will higher safeguard the meals system in opposition to local weather change.
Mary Burr
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Blue Ribbon Farm
Richard Roberts holds the buckwheat in his fingers, which he harvested from Blue Ribbon Farm in Somerset County as a part of the Maine Grain Alliance’s seed restoration and develop out program.
“The grain we’re getting from Scandinavia and Northern Europe has a local weather extra suited towards what seems to be like ours goes to develop into. It seems to be like it is going to be wetter right here,” Roberts stated.
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He grows out the seed to commercially viable portions, and passes it alongside to bigger grain operations, like Rusted Rooster Farm, which permits Sean O’Donnell to diversify his companies.
“Once you’re diversified sufficient, [money] simply it manages to trickle in a method or one other,” O’Donnell stated.
“From an financial perspective of farms and farming, having a diversified operation buffers you in opposition to extremes,” Mallory stated.
She stated constructing out Maine’s grain varieties has additionally had a optimistic impression on rising natural grain manufacturing within the state and creating client curiosity and demand.
“The factor that the native meals motion has completed for sustainable agriculture and the position of agriculture in local weather change is that it is actually raised individuals’s curiosity ranges and their information,” Mallory stated.
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The ability of Maine’s regional grain economic system, lies in neighborhood, connection and worth, Noyes stated. When the main target of buying grain is shifted from worth alone to a spread of things, together with flavor, sustainability, soil well being, and neighborhood wellbeing, client loyalty and engagement is strengthened. The better the curiosity and engagement in Maine’s grain economic system, the better the chances for adaptation.
“There’s the environmental and financial sustainability, however there is a neighborhood sustainability to this complete factor that is in all probability a very powerful half,” Noyes stated. “The people who find themselves a part of the regional grain economic system know each other, they’ve discovered from each other, they speak to at least one one other concerning the challenges that they face. When issues change for the great or the unhealthy, having these sturdy networks of individuals in place are one of many foundational elements of what’s going to make the way forward for the meals system sustainable.”
Heather Strout Thompson has been hauling lobster since traps were wooden. Here are her top lobster rolls in her home state of Maine, from Chipman’s Wharf to Luke’s Lobster.
Hundreds of years ago, lobsters washed up in droves along what’s now Maine’s rocky coast, so plentiful and cheap it was fed to prisoners. Today, tourists from all over come to the US’s north-easternmost state for the meatiest, sweetest lobster in the world, thanks to its freezing cold waters. And the best lobsters naturally make the best lobster rolls.
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Heather Strout Thompson has been hauling lobsters since traps were wooden, starting as a 10-year-old on her dad’s lobster boat in the 1980s. Now, with her sister and niece assisting her as sternmen, she’s captain of the boat she built. Her 36ft Wayne Beal fishing vessel, “Gold Digger”, even finished first in five of Maine’s celebrated Lobster Boat Races.
The lobster roll is a classic and beloved New England sandwich, featuring fat hunks of delicious lobster meat stuffed into a grilled, split-top hot dog bun. To find Maine’s top specimens, we spoke to Heather Strout Thompson, a fourth-generation lobsterman (a gender-neutral term in Maine) from the town of Harrington, who’s among a growing number (now 15%, up from 8% 10 years ago) of females in this male-dominated industry.
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“Fishing is in our blood,” says Thompson. “It’s the only thing I’ve ever done, so I’m going to do everything I can to protect it – for my grandchildren and theirs.’”
Thompson says the most tender, succulent lobster comes from the freshest daily catch. So whether you take your lobster roll drenched in melted butter (New England style) or tossed cold in a touch of mayonnaise (the Maine way), you can count on one thing: Thompson’s list of family-owned shacks and restaurants along the Maine coast serve their lobster rolls trap to table, no freezer needed.
Here are Thompson’s favourite lobster rolls in her home state.
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For delicious lobster rolls right off the boat, Chipman’s Wharf in Milbridge is a guarantee (Credit: Getty Images)
1. The best off the boat: Chipman’s Wharf, Milbridge
From the rooftop restaurant of Chipman’s Wharf, overlooking a working waterfront, a lobster roll has never tasted sweeter, says Thompson.
An industry in peril
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The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 99% of the world’s oceans, and with mounting regulations, the delicacy in Southern Maine is now scarcer by the year. In nearby Connecticut, where the first lobster roll was made in 1929, along with southern New England, the lobster population has declined by 70%, forcing Maine’s multigenerational lobstering families to work even harder to survive.
Visitors can support the industry by eating the best lobster rolls anywhere, straight from the boat.
Forty-four miles east of Acadia National Park on the Narraguagus River, lobster rolls are ordered (hot buttered or cold with light mayo) while patrons watch the boats deliver their catch. One of these boats is driven by owner John Chipman, a third-generation lobsterman, who constructed the restaurant in 2002.
“At Chipman’s they’re all lobstermen, and they’re bringing it up to the restaurant themselves, so you know it’s the freshest,” says Thompson.
Chipman recently had to reconstruct the restaurant’s 106ft wharf after the pilings and the 800 traps on them washed away in January 2024 storm floods that ravaged coastal Maine. But with a few dozen steadfast lobstermen delivering daily, this seasonal family restaurant isn’t letting up anytime soon. And if you prefer making your lobster roll at home, they ship too.
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Luke’s Lobster is a household name for lobster roll lovers around the world, but there’s only one Luke’s Lobster restaurant and it’s in Portland, Maine (Credit: Alamy)
2. The best for sustainability: Luke’s Lobster, Portland
As a third-generation lobsterman, Luke Holden traded Wall Street investing in his 20s to start a tiny lobster shack with his partner, Ben Connif, in Manhattan’s East Village, sourcing directly from his dad’s Maine lobster processing facility.
Thompson’s tips
• Avoid seasonal crowds; travel in the shoulder season (May, September-October)
• Tracing from trap to table, meet a lobsterman on their lobstering tour.
• Go see a working waterfront (in Portland, Millbridge, Stonington, Monhegan, Friendship, Beals, Southwest Harbor or Vinalhaven).
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Luke’s Lobster now has 17 branches in Japan, Singapore and across the US, but there’s only one fully fledged restaurant and it sits at the end of an old fishing pier with one of the best views of Casco Bay in the growing foodie mecca of Portland. The company’s lobsters, which are always bought directly from lobstermen, are kissed with a touch of butter and mayo and topped with Holden’s special seasoning.
Now back in Maine, Holden has his own Maine processing plant and donates a portion of his proceeds to preserve fishing communities and ocean sustainability, using only renewable energy and helping lobstermen reduce their carbon footprint.
“What Luke has done is vital to the future of Maine’s lobster industry,” she adds. “And, because the meat is so fresh, he makes a darn good lobster roll.”
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Monhegan Island is an hour-long ferry ride away from the mainland, but worth it for its succulent lobster rolls (Credit: Getty Images)
3. The best hidden gem: Fish House, Monhegan Island
After an hour-long ferry ride from Boothbay, New Harbor or Port Clyde, a lobster roll is non-negotiable at Fish House at Mohegan Island, a fish house and seafood market owned by harbour master Sherman “Shermie” Stanley. The only place in Maine with exclusive rights to lobstering in the surrounding waters, Monhegan Island is also the state’s sole spot with a winter lobster season, kicking off on 1 October – on Trap Day, the island’s holiday.
Thompson’s tips: how to eat lobster like a local
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• A softshell lobster available July-September) may contain less meat, but it’s sweeter and so soft you can rip it with your hands. No shell-cracking tool necessary.
• Skip the celery and tarragon. Let the lobster be the star: serve in a split-top hot dog bun, buttered on the griddle. Top with melted butter, light mayo or both.
• If preparing at home, leave no meat behind, starting with the legs.
That means lots of fresh lobster for the 59 year-round residents willing to tough it out in Maine’s freezing winters 12 miles out to sea – and its many visitors. This breathtakingly beautiful island doubles as an artist colony, drawing famous artists like Rockwell Kent and Jamie Wyeth, who still lives there seasonally.
Thompson suggests pairing your lobster roll with a tasty beer from lobsterman Matt Weber and his wife Mary at their nearby Monhegan Brewery before devouring a fresh lobster roll (mayo and a side of melted butter) at Fish Beach overlooking the harbour: “Their lobster roll is filled with giant satisfying chunks of claw meat.”
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Website: www.monheganfishhouse.com
Address: Fish Beach, Monhegan
Phone: 207-594-8368
Instagram: @monheganfishhouse
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Taste of Maine in Woolrich is home to the world’s largest inflatable lobster, and excellent giant lobster rolls to match (Credit: Getty Images)
4. The best big roll: Taste of Maine, Woolrich
While those with big appetites might also consider buying their roll earlier in the season, there’s a reason to buy in the high season. “In July, you’ll start catching more and more ‘shedders’ and less hardshell lobster. After they bury themselves in the mud and moult (males once a year and females every two years) the lobster shell is softer,” says Thompson. “Some softshell shedders may have less meat, but they have a sweeter flavour and [to get to the meat] you can break them with your fingers like paper.” No lobster tools necessary and less messy too. “The colour is a nice bright orange. We call them pumpkins,” she adds. “The Taste of Maine serves softshell most of the summer. It’s fresh, amazing and packed with meat.”
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This family-run restaurant, founded in 1978 and filled with nautical antiques does everything bigger, with live music and comedy, and of course, beautiful water views.
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McLoons Lobster Shack on Spruce Head Island serves two kinds of lobster rolls so you can see which one is your favourite (Credit: Alamy)
5. The best of the islands: McLoons Lobster Shack, South Thomaston
Also on the Mid-Coast, another family-owned lobster shack sits at the tip of one of Maine’s prettiest peninsulas on Spruce Head Island. “I love to see lobster shacks when I’m travelling. Most are family-owned-and-operated, and it’s nice to see people supporting local fishermen,” says Thompson.
McLoons belongs to Bree Birns, whose family owns and operates the bustling wharf where lobstermen deliver their catches to one of Maine’s long-standing fishing co-ops. The shack itself is an old lobster storage shed now serving up two rolls: a traditional quarter pounder and the double-sized Rolls Royce (with butter, mayo or both) and plenty of claws – the most tender, flavourful part, says Thompson. “Double the lobster fresh off the boat from another female lobsterman? What’s not to love about that?”
Her recommendation: Take it all in with a side of coleslaw and chips from the outdoor table and chairs made from lobster traps.
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For a true old-school lobster roll experience, head to South Freeport to Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company, one of the oldest in the state (Credit: Getty Images)
6. The best old-school joint: Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company, South Freeport
Located right by the boats at the town landing in South Freeport, Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster Company is another landmark mom-and-pop waterfront shack that has been serving locally sourced lobster since 1970. The small dine-in-dine-out shack with a lobster pound is one of the longest-serving lobster shacks in the state.
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“It looks like a hole in the wall but looks can be deceiving. The lobster roll is delicious – and one of the few left that still comes with fries,” says Thompson. With indoor or outdoor dining over harbour views, a lobster pound and the state’s celebrated homemade whoopie pies for dessert, this is classic Maine.
Website: harraseeketlunchandlobster.com
Address: 36 Main Street, South Freeport
Phone: 207-865-3535
BBC Travel‘s The SpeciaList is a series of guides to popular and emerging destinations around the world, as seen through the eyes of local experts and tastemakers.
Two popular beaches in southern Maine were under advisories Friday due to elevated bacteria levels.
Swimmers and beach-goers should avoid the water at Ocean Park in Old Orchard Beach and Mackerel Cove in Harpswell, according to advisories listed on the Maine Health Beaches website Friday.
Earlier this week there was an advisory in place in Kennebunkport.
A group of people play Spikeball at twilight on the beach in Aug. 2020, at Ocean Park in Old Orchard Beach. Robert F. Bukaty/Associated Press, file
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The town warned beachgoers on Tuesday to avoid swimming or contacting the water in the Batson and Little rivers at either end of Goose Rocks Beach, citing elevated bacteria levels.
“In addition to repeated results showing human bacteria (DNA) in the Batson and Little rivers, the most recent testing has shown elevated levels of enterococci bacteria in these rivers,” the town said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
The latest testing results on the town’s website, measured Wednesday, found bacteria levels in the Little River to be more than seven times higher than what the EPA considers unsafe. Levels in the Batson River were more than four times that threshold, according to the town’s test results.
No advisories were posted on the statewide healthy beaches list for the main beach at Goose Rocks on Friday.
The town said Tuesday that the water quality at Goose Rocks Beach is more difficult to maintain than at most beaches in Maine, largely because of the two tidal rivers that bookend the shore. While the two rivers experience higher than average bacteria levels, the main swimming beach does not, the town says. Bacteria levels can also be heightened at low tide.
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Enterococci bacteria come from the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, and they can indicate contamination by fecal matter, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. In response to the heightened levels, the town is increasing its testing from once to twice per week.
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