Piscataquis County Success Stories
(Dover-Foxcroft Field Office)

Truck Garden Farm Receives Agricultural Management Assistance in Maine

Sid and Rainie Stutzman of Piscataquis County operate a 60-acre truck garden (commercial vegetable garden), of which about 20 acres are leased.  Two man-made ponds on their family farm were inadequate to supply water enough for all their vegetable and berry crops.  With the help of AMA funding and technical designing by NRCS engineers, the Stutzmans purchased a new irrigation pump and a Travel Gun irrigation system, and have had a reservoir enlarged.  The new system allows the correct amount of water to be applied when the crops need it. 

With the old system Sid Stutzman moved pipes by hand from field to field and couldn't seem to work fast enough to accommodate the need.  Because of the labor intensity in moving pipes by hand, there was a tendency to apply more water to compensate for the length of time before the irrigation could make the rounds again.

The Stutzman farm, located on the Doughty Hill Road in Sangerville, has been handed down from a few generations before Sid.  When Sid was a boy his father ran a dairy farm. When young Sid wanted to attend the Piscataquis Valley Fair his father encouraged him to sell vegetables to earn the money he wanted.  From that beginning Stutzman Farms has become a symbol in the area for locally-grown produce.  Most of their produce is sold at their farm roadside stand about 2 miles from the town of Dover-Foxcroft .  They also supply local stores with produce. 

Demonstration Forest Opens to Public 

Educational recreation was the theme of the day. Guests at the Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation District's Demonstration Forest hiked miles of trails while learning about forestry, wildlife planting and more.

The grand opening in Williamsburg Plantation kicked off with Board Chair greeting  guests and explaining the forest project. An Associate Supervisor told the crowd about some of the special features of the land; two historical homestead sites, forestry Best Management Practices (BMP) examples, a glacially-formed canyon and miles of hiking and skiing trails on 180 acres of district land.

Some of the partnerships that helped the district develop the land into a community asset were mentioned. Supervisors serving in the 1970s worked tirelessly to bring the property into local possession. Before that, it was part of the White Mountains National Forest due to federal land purchases made during the Great Depression.

Work on the Demonstration Forest is ongoing and has been accomplished with help from the Brownville area Boy Scouts of America, the Land Use Regulation Commission, the Low Impact Forestry Project, the Maine Forest Service, Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Foxcroft Academy's Forestry Program, and the Piscataquis Public Health Council. New partnerships are being formed. The Penobscot Indian Nation, whose land borders that of the district, has applied for grant funding to improve the road into the Demonstration Forest. Those improvements would make the forest more accessible for passenger cars and school busses.

There was a brief service to dedicate a monument donated in memory of three deceased supervisors who worked very hard on the forest project.  At the end of the day, the monument was hauled deeper into the forest by tractor and permanently placed.  It now rests where two hiking trails converge, at the base of three legacy pines overlooking the canyon.

Workshops were offered as part of the festivities. Topics included apple tree pruning, a tour through BMP sites, a Ground Penetrating Station demonstration, and a presentation on wildlife planting and habitat.

Work is ongoing on the road, parking area, privy, outdoor classroom, picnic tables, benches, a kiosk, hiking trails and Best Management Practices demonstration sites. The forest is available for educational and recreational purposes. 

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