With our hay safely in the barn we are now turning our attention to our new Indiegogo Project.  Crowdfunding, of which Indiegogo is the world's leading platform, is a community-funded project incubator. It is a means by which a community comes together to support a worthy project.  Pledges are made by folks like you who want to see a project succeed.  Perks are offered for different levels of support.  Minimum amounts are indicated for each perk, but you may pledge more than the minimum if you desire. 

     There is an established deadline, for us, July 24,  by which a financial goal – in our case $32,000 – is targeted. Please help us meet our goal!

Our Organic Seed Farm.

     As many of you know, our family has been growing organic seed and organic food on Wood Prairie Farm here in Northern Maine for the last 36 years.   Our isolated seed farm on the edge of the North Maine Woods is 115 acres, about half in farmland and the other half in woods.  Our family makes our entire living from our certified organic farm.   We’ve got four children ranging in age from 21 down to 9.  They all have a big role in making our organic family farm successful.

Our Involvement in the Organic Community.

     In addition to our daily work of organic farming, we’ve always believed that it’s our responsibility to help make our organic community strong and permanent. Over the course of the last 30 years we have donated many thousands of hours towards making Organic strong through our organic community volunteer work. We have been committed to helping transform organic family farming into a viable alternative to chemical agriculture.  

    Jim is now President of Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association.  OSGATA is in a prominent role as lead plaintiff in the landmark organic community lawsuit, OSGATA et al v. Monsanto which is challenging the validity of Monsanto’s GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) patents and seeks Court protection for family farmers from allegations of patent infringement should, through no fault of our own, Monsanto’s GMO seed trespass onto our farms and contaminate our crops. You can find information about OSGATA v. Monsanto on our website www.woodprairie.com, on our Facebook wall and in these Seed Piece newsletters.

Our Mission to Build a New Farm Equipment Repair Shop.

     Potatoes are a heavy crop and they demand extensive use of farm machinery in order for farming to be practical and efficient. Additionally, the organic seed and food crops we grow require lots of other specialized older equipment. As farmers we spend plenty of time repairing farm equipment, keeping our tractors running and fabricating new machines we need in order to do a better job farming. From growing up around and working on the farm equipment, Peter and Caleb, our oldest children have become good mechanics and earned the responsibility of doing most of our equipment repairs. 

     We need a farm equipment repair shop so our boys can do their repair work anytime including in wet weather and during our long Maine winters. We’ve worked out a budget and it means raising $32,000 through Indiegogo to buy the materials for the repair shop.  Like we have always done, we will perform the construction work.

We need your help to build our Indiegogo Repair Shop!

     This year will be the first phase. The repair shop will be a 30 foot by 70 foot metal building on a concrete slab with radiant floor wood heat.  The $32,000 will allow us to do the site work, pour the slab, construct and button-up the building shell, and begin using the shop.  Future phases will allow us to add things like the large garage doors and the insulation. But the important point is that with your help we’ll get our shop built and operating this year so that our boys will have a safe and dry place to keep our seed equipment repaired and ready for the work of growing good organic seed.

     We’re grateful for your support of our family and Wood Prairie Farm. Thanks for your help on our Indiegogo project!

More info about Wood Prairie Farm.

* Utne Reader. Nov 2011. “Jim Gerritsen Named 2011 Visionary.”

* New York Times. Dec 2011.  “A Maine Farmer Speaks to Wall Street.”

* Occupy Farmers March NYC. Dec 2011. “We are Farmers. We Feed the People.”

* Public Patent Foundation. Mar 2012. “Jim Gerritsen Discusses Lawsuit on PBS.”

* Slow Food Terra Madre, Italy. Oct 2006. “The Potato Culture of Aroostook County, Maine, USA.”

* Atlantic Monthly. Sept 2002. “Maine Certified. The Potatoes of September.” 

* Wake Up World. May 2012.  “Organic Farmers vs. Monsanto: Appeal Filed!”

Review of Indiegogo Pledge Perks.

     We would be grateful if you would support our Indiegogo Farm Repair Shop project.  We’ve put together a collection of Wood Prairie Farm perks that we’d like to share with you.  Thanks!

Wood Prairie Farm Sweet Cider Label.  Thirty-year-old heritage color Wood Prairie Farm Sweet Cider label (4” x 4”) designed in the fruit-crate label art tradition.

Historical Wood Prairie Farm Potato Postcard Set.  A collection of twenty-two of our original fruit-crate-label-inspired Wood Prairie Farm Potato Postcards including the rare Kerry Blue and Ozette Fingerling.

Vintage Wood Prairie Farm Chantenay Carrot Poster.  Beautiful Wood Prairie Farm Chantenay Carrot poster (10” x 15”) in fruit-crate label style on heavy cardstock with green motif.

Organic Wood Prairie Farm T-Shirt.   High quality unbleached organic cotton t-shirt. Left breast printed with full color Wood Prairie Farm logo. Choice of XL, L, M, S.

Personalized Wood Prairie Farm Metal Art Wall Hanging.   After our Kickstarter Farm Repair Shop is built, our boys Peter and Caleb will personally fabricate for you, by a process involving welding and grinding, a hand made original 3” x 9” metal wall hanging (or paper weight) emblazoned with your name (maximum seven characters) and ‘[Heart] Wood Prairie Farm.

Organic Wood Prairie Farm Container Gardening Kit.  Grow anywhere Container Gardening Kit includes two (2) 15-gallon fabric Grow Bags, the book Window Boxes by Cramer & Johnson, a heavy duty stainless steel trowel and an assortment of ten organic Wood Prairie Farm seed packet varieties well-adapted to container gardening including sweet Una Hartsock Plum Tomato and amazing Jimmy Nardello Sweet Red Pepper.

Choice of One Mounted Print from “Rural Harvest” Series by Photographer Lottie Hedley.  Your choice of one black and white matted archival inkjet print (20” x 24” white mat with 15” x 10.5” image) from Lottie Hedley’s stark and powerful fifteen-image family farmer series “Rural Harvest” (https://www.lottiehedleyphotography.com/rural-harvest#0).

Choice of Two Mounted Prints from “Rural Harvest” Series by Photographer Lottie Hedley.  Your choice of two black and white matted archival inkjet prints (each 20” x 24” white mat with 15” x 10.5” image) from Lottie Hedley’s family farmer series “Rural Harvest” (https://www.lottiehedleyphotography.com/rural-harvest#0)

Wood Prairie Farm Private Tour and By-the-Pond Organic Picnic for Six People plus “Rural Harvest” Mounted Print.  Enjoy a half-day with the Gerritsen family on Wood Prairie Farm. Includes a private farm and Kickstarter Repair Shop tour and hay wagon ride, a momento: your choice of one black and white matted archival inkjet print (20” x 24” white mat with 15” x 10.5” image) from Lottie Hedley’s “Rural Harvest” series (https://www.lottiehedleyphotography.com/rural-harvest#0), and the day topped off with an organic Picnic-By-The Pond and campfire

Personalized Keynote Presentation by Jim Gerritsen at Your Location.   Wood Prairie Farm will cover travel expenses and Wood Prairie farmer Jim Gerritsen will journey to your location anywhere in the lower 48 states  (please add-on actual travel expenses for locations in Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada) and deliver a Keynote Speech at your conference or event.

Penobscot River Whitewater Raft Trip.  Plus Two-Days Lodging for Six People plus Private Tours & By-The-Pond Organic Picnic plus Mounted “Rural Harvest” Print.  

Spend a couple of days in northern Maine with the Gerritsen family. Package includes a private van tour of Aroostook County, Maine, plus a private farm and Kickstarter Repair Shop tour, hay wagon ride, organic Picnic-By-The-Pond and campfire.

Plus two nights’ lodging in a modern A-frame cabin (with sauna and hot tub) at nearby Blaine Country Cabins.

Plus one of the top outdoor adventures in the Eastern United States: a breathtaking all-day whitewater raft trip  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE6IaoHCJ1w&feature=related) with the Gerritsens on the West Branch of the Penobscot River near Katahdin.  Includes the services of a Registered Maine Raft Guide, Class V rapids, mid-day riverside dinner (salmon, steak, chicken or vegetarian), and professionally photographed DVD souvenir video of your  raft trip.

Plus your choice of a black and white matted archival inkjet print (20” x 24” white mat with 15” x 10.5” image) from Lottie Hedley’s “Rural Harvest” family farm series (https://www.lottiehedleyphotography.com/rural-harvest#0)

More Ways You Can Help Us On Our Indiegogo Project.

First, if you are able please contribute to help our project succeed and get a perk in return.

Also please tell your friends!

In addition to your pledge, you can help our Farm Repair Shop project succeed by clicking the Like button. This helps raise our 'gogofactor' ranking which can help channel major attention to our project.  Also please help us by spreading the word so that family and friends come to our Indiegogo Project in any of these ways:

- Friend us on Facebook.

- Post our Indiegogo Project on your Facebook Wall.

- Tweet about our Indiegogo Project.

- Post about our Indiegogo Project on your blog.

- Email our Indiegogo Project to your friends.

- Post about our Indiegogo Project on Reddit.

- Please tell everyone!  Thanks!

Please click here to land on our Indiegogo Farm Equipment Repair Project page. Thanks for helping our family and Wood Prairie Farm!