There is still time to grab the last few seats on the bus for the Knox-Lincoln Conservation Farm Tour of Lincoln County. Join us on Saturday, Sept. 10, for a day of fun and education as we travel the highways and biways of the Midcoast to see conservation practices in action, learn about the benefits of local foods and agricultural products, and enjoy the view through the windows of a luxury coach from Northeast Charter & Tour Co., winner of the 2014 Green Highway award.

The tour will visit the following MOFGA-certified organic farms, all of which have implemented a variety of conservation practices in cooperation with USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service:

• Eldertide Pharm is the largest organic elderberry orchard in the US – and it is right in Dresden Mills. We will see where Edie Johnston harvests elderberries, black chokeberries and other fruits and herbs that are used to create herbal supplements for sister company, Maine Medicinals, and get to sample homemade elderberry cordials. Eldertide has installed a new hoop house, pollinator plantings, and drip irrigation with the help of NRCS cost-share grants.
• Hamilton Farm in Whitefield is home to Barred Owl Creamery & Catering. Here Patti and Chris Hamilton raise sheep and goats for the award-winning cheese Patti produces in her on-farm creamery, and vegetables and herbs for the catering part of the operation. Not to mention the pasture-raised pork, chicken, turkey and lamb; sheep and goat milk soap; wool pillows; and fleeces. In 2015, Knox-Lincoln SWCD selected Hamilton Farm as Conservation Farm of the Year.
• Beau Chemin Preservation Farm in Waldoboro, where JoAnn and Wayne Myers preserve endangered breeds of sheep, ducks, draft animals, and Icelandic cashmere dairy goats on their 150-acre homestead that has been a working farm for about 200 years. Our visit should be just in time for the latest batch of baby goats and ripe “you-pick” grapes. They will also share information about how they are using alternative mowing strategies to control bedstraw organically and conserve grasslands for bobolinks.

The cost of the tour is $45 per person and includes all travel from a central location in Waldoboro; morning coffee with homemade coffee cake; a delicious fresh from the garden, farm to table lunch at Hamilton Farm prepared by Barred Owl Catering; and afternoon snacks. The bus will depart at 8 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. As always, there will be opportunities to purchase farm products, so feel free bring a checkbook and a cooler.

To request more information or to register for the tour, contact Hildy at 596-2040, hildy@knox-lincoln.org, or register online at www.knox-lincoln.org/conservation-tour. Knox-Lincoln SWCD is an equal opportunity provider and employer.