LISBON – Ben Daley traveled around the world as a child and teenager, spending time in different countries depending on where his mother – a U.S. State Department diplomat – was stationed.

One thing that Daley said he always wanted to do was start a farm and keep some animals on it.

After graduating high school, Daley said he went to school at Wesleyan University, where he learned the tools of the farming trade, and carried that knowledge with him from farm to farm, whether it was in Connecticut, Tennessee or North Carolina.

Eventually, he made his way back to Maine, where he started Chirp Creek Farm as a place to grow organic vegetables.

Daley runs the farm with the help of a part-time worker and two large Belgian horses named Mitch and Eddie, who previously worked at Wagons of Acadia on Mt. Desert Island and on farms in Amish country.

Name: Ben Daley

Age: 24

Hometown: Lisbon

Occupation: Owner of Chirp Creek Farm

Did you grow up in Maine? If not, how did you make your way here? I grew up as a foreign service brat, which is similar to a military brat. My mom worked as a diplomat in the State Department, so we traveled all around the world. We lived in China, Turkmenistan, Russia and other countries. While we were abroad my family always dreamed of coming back to Maine and keeping some animals on a small farm.

You mention on the Chirp Creek Farm website that you’ve farmed in several different states. Can you talk about your experience farming growing up, and how that led you to school at Long Lane Farm? When I returned to the U.S. after high school, I went to study at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. There was a farm at the college called Long Lane Farm, and while I studied history I worked at the farm constantly, often spending nearly all of my free time there. The farm was collectively organized and allowed each member a chance to suggest projects they were interested in, while we all worked together to produce for the school cafeteria as well as local food pantries, soup kitchens and a farmers market.

While working at Long Lane Farm, I was intent on learning as much as possible about how to run a sustainable farm business that would be productive and profitable. During the growing season I took various apprenticeships, including one in Nashville, Tennessee, and the next year in Newcastle, Maine, at Morning Dew Farm. After that, I went to work at a horse-powered farm in North Carolina for a season. At all these farms I was learning to grow mixed vegetables organically, and learning from mentors who had differing approaches to sustainable agriculture.

How did Chirp Creek Farm come to be? When my mom decided it was time to leave her career at the State Department, she wanted to find a place to settle down here in Maine, and after much searching, she and my dad decided to come here to Lisbon and buy a big white farmhouse. My parents have their own agricultural ambitions of being more self-sufficient by making hay to feed horses and keeping cows and chickens. After some time working in North Carolina, I made my way up here and the next season I decided to try my hand at starting my own organic vegetable farm: Chirp Creek Farm.

On your website, it describes the farm as “horse-powered.” For people unfamiliar with farming methods, can you explain what it means for the farm to be “horse-powered?” How does it affect your ability to farm compared to places that don’t use horse-powered methods? I use a team of draft horses as the main source of power at the farm. Their names are Mitch and Eddie. They are big Belgian horses, weighing around 1,700 pounds a piece. I decided to work with draft horses because I have very little knowledge about fixing small-engine tractors, and I get much more frustrated working with machines than I do animals. Thankfully, Mitch and Eddie are well-trained and are generally easy to work with, although they can be quite sassy sometimes, especially around dinnertime.

Draft horse equipment is cheaper than tractor equipment, making it easier to get started with all the equipment I needed. I was able to find much of the equipment I needed on Craigslist. One cultivator I bought was even on sale at an antique shop. It is gratifying to be able to use equipment that is over 100 years old and have it be more reliable and easier to fix than modern equipment.

Using horses does have its drawbacks. They can be slower and less precise than tractors, but at the scale at which I’m growing (about 5 acres of cropped land) they do the trick just fine.

Can you explain the CSA program that your farm participates in? Chirp Creek has a CSA program at the farm to support us in our farming endeavors early in the season. CSA stands for community supported agriculture. It is a way for communities to feed themselves, connecting neighbors directly with farmers. CSA customers sign up in advance for a season of vegetables, which they get to pick out each week from what is available. There are a range of sizes and choices available, and we grow such a variety of vegetables there really is something available for everyone.

We have CSA pickups at our Farm Stand at 76 Littlefield Road in Lisbon, as well as the Lewiston Farmers Market, Cumberland Farmers Market and Falmouth Farmers Market. We’re excited about all the support local farms have been receiving recently. It’s easier to appreciate the need for localized food production in times of crisis, and we’re excited to produce as much food as we possibly can this season!

Feel free to reach out to our email at chirpcreekfarm@gmail.com to learn more about the farm!

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