NEW MEADOWS CO-OP
Community
Our co-op thrives on community engagement – whether it is public events, education, or collaborative research. If you are interested in working with the co-op, reach out below.
Events & Tours
Our events focus on getting people outdoors to connect with the ocean, the seafood they love, and the farmers who grow it.
What kind of events and tours do you have?
We hold an annual open-farm day and have expanded this event to include kayak tours, picnics on the water, and a land-based celebration.
Each year the Holbrook Community Foundation hosts the co-op for “Holbrooks on the Halfshell”- a fun and scenic tasting event on their wharf in Harpswell.
Several co-op farms are also a part of the Maine Oyster Trail.
If you would like more information or would like to collaborate with us on an event, contact us below.
Research & News
The farms in our co-op are actively involved in research that aims to reduce our energy footprint, bring new products to market, increase farm yields, and produce oysters for reef restoration.
Clam and Oyster Polyculture
This ongoing research project tests crop diversification on existing oyster farms through the addition of a high-value crop species with different environmental needs (quahog clams). The pilot trial of this grow-out system has been run at Winnegance Oyster Farm since 2017 and now is now being tested at eight additional farms including co-op members Long Reach, Ferda Farms, Getchells Ledge, Mill Cove, Nice Oyster Company, and Dingley Cove. This work has been funded by the USDA’s SARE program in collaboration with the non-profit,Manomet.
This system has the potential to increase crop yields without increasing farm footprint, produces a product with different susceptibility to disease and market conditions, and could provide large quahog seed for municipal shellfish programs and wild harvesters.
Current work is focused on improving nursery technique and pre-harvest handling, identifying market opportunities, and determining the effects of local environmental conditions on quahog growth rates,.
Basin Oyster Restoration
The Basin Oyster Project is an exciting collaborative endeavor of municipality, institution, education and industry including the Town of Phippsburg, Bates College, the University of Maine, The Maine Oyster Company, & The Yarmouth Shellfish Nursery. A community based, nonprofit, science and educational effort to successfully create oyster reefs in the New Meadows basin to filter the water, provide habitat for fish and make an ongoing, vibrant, shellfish ecosystem.
