The Farmers
Seth Kroeck, Farm Manager, seth@crystalspringcsa.com had been growing vegetables organically for eight years in California, Massachusetts and New York before settling with his family here in Maine in 2003. Seth has no formal agricultural education but instead has worked with and been mentored by many generous farmers. He has studied Asian Art History in college, traveled extensively throughout India, and spent several years as a fine art printer in San Francisco. His wife Maura balances her jobs as a social worker, resident farmhand, and mother of their children Griffin and Leila.
info@crystalspringcsa.com
We have been raising sheep since the spring of 2005 at Crystal Spring Community Farm. The husbandry of our flock of katahdin hairsheep is a partnership between master shepherd Tom Settlemire and Seth Kroeck, the manager of Crystal Spring Community Farm. Tom has been raising sheep in Brunswick since 1971 and brings his decades of shepherding experience as well as an academic research background with Bowdoin College, The Northeast Katahdin Project, and Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Reasearch and Education program (SARE) to the partnership.
The Katahdin Breed is a lamb production composite that was developed in Maine in the 1950’s from African hairsheep crossed with several Down (large framed English) varieties. From the first flock, this breed has been selected for their ability to shed their fleece, develop large loin eyes, and maintain high fertility with superior flocking instinct. Over the next thirty years the breed was improved through further crossing to develop a strong mothering instinct as well as excellent milk production during lambing. In the past decade the katahdin breed has also become known for their genetic superiority in resistance to both scrapie and intestinal parasites. All of these traits combine together to form a breed that offers superior ease of lamb production along with unsurpassed animal health and vigor.
We offer breeding stock for sale annually with detailed production records including parasite resistance data. Our registered Katahdin breeding stock is selected for several characteristics that we have found to be most important for the improvement of lamb production. These are good mothering, ease of lambing, strong milk production at lambing and during the first 60 days, udder health and proven resistance genetics for scrapie and barber pole worm (heamonchous contortous).
Katahdins are increasingly known for their genetic resistance to disease. Our flock was the first in Maine enrolled in the National Scapie Eradication Program. Independent of this program, we test for their resistance to scrapie at codons 171, 136, and 125.We also monitor resistance to barber pole worm in our animals using a combination of FAMACHA testing every 30 days along with fecal egg counts twice annually to confirm parasite loads. This testing regimen ensures that we have a consistently improving resistance to barber pole worm in our flock.
Your membership entitles you to pick up your share one time each week. Distribution days are Tuesdays or Fridays, 3:30-6:30 at the farm. You do not have to commit to the same day each week; come which ever day is more convenient for you each week.
CSA Closed for 2008, taking members for 2009 starting in September 2008. The cost of a share is $500 for CSA from early June through late October.