Matt - Ouellette Family Dairy: A small organic dairy farm located in central Maine
iCrowdNewswire -
Jul 13, 2015 10:25 AM ET
Personal Story
My name is Matt and I am 28 years old. My girlfriend and I have two beautiful little girls, who love the farm life just as much as I do. I was introduced to the farm life when I was very young. I grew up on a small dairy farm in Cornville, Maine. Cornville is a small town with a very close community of neighbors who are always helping each other. Growing up on a dairy farm hasn’t always been easy. It was actually a lot of work for all of us. Those hard times have taught me many life lessons, for which I am grateful because they have proven beneficial in my later years. I am thankful for the hard, earnest life that farming has showed me and I wish to provide that life for my family as well. We hope to get established as a dairy farm, and later on expand to a creamery where we can market our own products such as cheese, raw milk, as well as grow a garden to offer local and fresh produce that is affordable for all families.
Business Description
Ouellette family dairy is a small organic dairy farm located in central Maine. We have roughly 42 milk cows and ten young stock at this time. We milk our cows twice daily and are currently shipping our milk to Organic Valley. We started trying to purchase our dairy farm roughly 3 years ago, with many failed attempts. After doing some research we found some great investors who understood what we were trying to do, and were willing to help us get started. We started farming on our own July 31, 2014 and couldn’t be happier. I was raised on a dairy farm my entire life and fortunately have a great girlfriend and two little girls who share the same passion for cows and work that I do. In the future, we would eventually like to have a creamery and a road side vegetable stand where we can sell our products locally at a price every family can afford
What is the purpose of this loan?
The Kiva Zip loan would be used to fix some of the many things that need desperate attention and repair on our farm. Here is a brief breakdown of what we would use the funds for.
– 1000.00 Ground Work- We need to have gravel delivered and level out the entrance/exit for our cows, we need them to be as comfortable as possible. We also need to replace all of our fencing as it is no longer up to par. – 1000.00 Mold Remediation- The farmhouse was in very rough shape when we bought it. We need to remove and replace all areas that were contaminated with black mold. The farmhouse will serve as a home/office so we need it to be safe for all to enter, so that we are able to be at the farm at all times. – 2500.00 Barn Repairs- Our barn needs quite a bit of work to have it outlast harsh weather conditions. – 500.00 Farm Equipment – We do not have any equipment which makes things very difficult and time consuming.
We have our work cut out for us, but when you love what you do it makes things much easier! We appreciate you taking the time to look at our page!