2009 Outstanding Conservation Farm of the Year

Edgecomb Family Farm

Limestone

Edgecomb Family Farm in Limestone has received the Conservation Farm of the Year from the Central Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District.  This award is presented by the District to a landowner that does an exemplary job of natural resource conservation.  The Edgecomb family grows over 500 acres of potatoes along with grains, hay and other vegetables every year.  Their farms have good deep soils that reflect long-term soil management and land stewardship.  They plow deep to eliminate a soil pan and keep their soil at optimum pH and with a high organic matter.  Bob Edgecomb says “Organic matter is the most important part of the soil to manage.  When you make a living off the soil, it becomes an asset”.

The Edgecombs maintain many waterways and diversions on their farms.  Each farm is managed to improve the soil quality and to decrease soil erosion. Sod waterways work particularly well on their farms and the diversions they have built are particularly important in the spring.  The family continually pursues establishing a more efficient operation by diversifying, improving efficiency and saving on operation costs. 

2009 Conservation Partner

Cavendish Farms, Maine and Scott Smith

The Central Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District presented Cavendish Farms, Maine and farm manager Scott Smith with the Conservation Partner of the Year award.  Scott Smith and Cavendish Farms, Maine were recognized for their contribution to soil and water conservation efforts in the Kennedy Brook/Mantle Lake watershed.    

“Cavendish Farms is committed to agricultural practices that keep the soil on the farm” said Scott Smith at the meeting.  Cavendish uses practices that decrease the erosion potential on their farms such as a three year rotation for potato production that increases soil protection and improves soil quality.  They continually upgrade waterways and diversions that keep their farms in top shape.   

In 2004, the District with help of a team of volunteers surveyed Kennedy Brook and Mantle Lake’s watershed to identify sources of sediments and pollutants that were causing algae blooms at Mantle Lake in Presque Isle.  The clean-up efforts at Mantle Lake started with draining the lake and removing up to 12 feet of sediments that had collected over the last 100 years.   

Cavendish Farms has been a key player in the Mantle Lake clean-up efforts.  They have reestablished and repaired conservation practices on their farms that control any potential movement of sediment to Kennedy Brook, the stream that feeds Mantle Lake. 

This past fall, Cavendish Farms installed a system of waterways and sediment basins on the “Christie Farm” that will collect runoff during extreme rain events and winter thaws when sediments have potential to reach the Kennedy Brook and Mantle Lake.