Marc Cavatorta

I currently own and operate Foxfire Farm, where I grow MOFGA certified organic produce on approximately 4 acres in Palermo, ME. I have been running this farm for 3 years and before that I worked on and managed other farms around the country for about 10 years. I am currently at a crossroads where I need to either make significant investments on my current property or look for a new farm that has better soil, infrastructure and is in a better location for direct sales (preferably a farm stand or nearby busy farmer's market).

I have worked on my business plan with help from MOFGA's journeyperson program, MFT's Business of Farming and other farm business programs. It will continue to evolve and adapt to my physical location and the opportunities and resources available. My primary farm enterprise is organic vegetable production. I want to transition from a tillage-based system to one that utilizes permanent no-till beds with deep compost mulch. I envision working toward 2-3 acres in permanent no-till production with 4+ high tunnels and 2-4 acres in more extensive row crops rotated with cover crops. Through intensive high tunnel management I aim to have year-round production and sales. It will be imperative to add some direct sales to my sales mix, preferably 1-2 strong farmer's markets averaging $2k/week potential and/or an on-farm CSA if the property is suited for that. The remainder of my crops will sent for wholesale distribution or to Good Shepherd Food Bank. In order to transition to no-till and to reach a level of production to meet my financial goals, I will need to hire and retain talented and reliable employees. Having on-farm housing or being located close to populated towns/cities will make this more feasible.