1. Wolfe’s Neck Farm Organic Dairy Research and Farmer Training Program Freeport, ME

2. Program Vision To develop and operate an environmentally and economically sustainable Organic Dairy program that is used to effectively train new organic dairy farmers to run their operations, assists them with accessing capital and land to get started on their own, and advances research on pasture and forage management in a way that makes practical information about strategies for improving pasture and forages available to the organic dairy community in the Northeast and supports improved farm viability.

3. Need A dramatic loss of working dairy farms The associated negative economic impact The need for a new and profitable dairy model The lack of an effective organic dairy training program No pasture-based training farm with residence Significant growth in demand for organic dairy products including grass-milk products Currently there are 60 organic dairy farms in ME

4. Desired Outcomes 15 new organic dairy farmers in first 10 years. This would represent a 25% increase of Organic dairy farmers in Maine. Inform and support existing Organic dairy farmers through demonstration, research and experimentation. Establish a premier pasture-based demonstration, research and training facility in the Northeast. Serve as a Statewide and Regional site for convening the Organic Dairy industry.

5. Farmer Training/Apprenticeship Four trainees arrive each year for a 2-year Apprenticeship under the tutelage of a Master Grazier and a team of support staff and industry professionals Hands on training focuses on management, stockmanship, grazing, forages, business planning and transition planning including access to land and capital Program is offered in partnership with WI- based Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship – and accredited by the U.S. Department of Labor

6. Timeline – Current Snapshot 2015 Build herd (with a goal of a 60-head milking herd by June 2016) Launched partnership with WI-based Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship First cohort of Apprentices begins during summer/fall Imported N. America’s first mobile milking parlor Began shipping milk to Stonyfield in mid-September Develop initial research agenda 2016 Second cohort of four Apprentices begins Herd reaches 60-head 2017 First Four Apprentices transition out of program and begin new farm businesses

7. Financial Overview Total Cost to build, launch and support operation until breakeven (year 3) - $2,700,000 Total secured to-date - $1,918,050 Total Need Remaining-$781,000 Major funders/supporters to-date include: Stonyfield, Danone Ecosystem Fund and Sewall Foundation

8. Farmer and Technical Advisory Board Vaughn Chase Chase’s Organic Dairy, Mapleton, ME Dorn Cox Farmer and Executive Director, Greenstart New Hampshire Timothy Griffin Director – Agriculture Food and Environment Program, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University Henry Hardy Hardy Farm, Farmington, ME Gray Harris Director, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, CEI Doug Hartkopf Hart-to-Hart Farm, Albion, ME. Jennifer Hashley Director, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project Rick Kersbergen Extension Professor, Sustainable Dairy and Forage Systems, UMaine Cooperative Extension Andrew Marshall Education and Field Director, Land For Good Britt Lundgren Director of Sustainable and Organic Agriculture, Stonyfield Sonja-Heck-Merlin Clovercrest Farm, Charleston, ME John Piotti President, Maine Farmland Trust Abby Sadauckas Young Farmer and Sail Freight Coordinator, Greenhorns Kyle Thygesen Farmer Relationship Manager, Stonyfield Gregg Varney Nezinscot Farm, Turner, ME Katie Webb MOFGA Certification Services Dairy Specialist Kristi White Sayer Family Farm Fiona Wilson Assistant Professor of Strategy, Sustainability, and Social Entrepreneurship, UNH