JAY — Farming is once again the focus at the former Seamon’s Orchard located at 509 Franklin Road [Route 133] but with differences.

According to the Facebook page, JEFFA Family Farm is open daily, 7 a.m. – 6[ish] p.m. If the lights are on and the open flag is out, it is open. An honor system is used with Venmo or cash accepted for payment.

Ashley and Brad Marshall took over last May, moved their beef animals from their former place in New York state. They opened JEFFA Family Farm late in 2024 and sold Christmas trees along with other products from local farms.

“Leon [Seamon, former owner] was my great uncle, my father’s uncle,” Ashley said Friday afternoon, Jan. 3. “Jeff Adams is my father, the farm name is in homage and respect to him. He grew up on this farm, his mom was a Seamon. He planted the seed that maybe we should come here and has been a huge support since.”

The Marshalls are building a barn, have 16 head of beef cattle. There is some Wagyu influence in the herd, which also includes one Hereford, Ashley noted. Six calves were born on the farm this summer, the rest are a mix of yearlings and older cattle, she said.

Wagyu is a Japanese breed known for its unique taste and tenderness of highly marbled beef, according to the American Wagyu Association.

Meat birds and layers are also raised on the farm with the youngest layers just starting to produce eggs, Ashley said. She also has several goats that are pets now and great brush eaters. Some are meat goats, someday that could be an option as well, she noted.

Plans for this year include raising and selling vegetables, Ashley said. A garden was grown last year, she stated.

“We had the ground all ready for sweet corn last year, the calendar got the better of us,” Brad said. “We are ready for this year.”

A few apple trees may be rescued but there are no plans to renovate the orchards, Ashley noted. “Nothing to the scale it was,” she said. “We plan to grow Christmas trees, those will take up space where some of the orchard was.”

As the farm continues to expand the products it produces, Ashley stated it will continue to offer Maine produced products from other farms too. “I have some meetings lined up to even expand our offerings,” she said. “Chaos coffee. Somebody right here in Jay raises dairy goats, we may offer her products.”

Having worked in the dairy industry themselves, supporting local dairies is important to the Marshalls. A cooler is stocked with milk from Harris Farm in Dayton with milk runs made every Friday.

Another cooler is filled with cheese and butter from Maine farms.

Honey, maple syrup and kettle corn are other offerings found at JEFFA Family Farm.

“I just saw the sign, had to check it out,” Gina Hobert of Farmington said after entering. “I drive by here every day.”

Assured the chickens were fresh and raised without genetic modification, Hobert selected one from the freezer to buy.

“They’re big though,” Ashley said. “They will give you a couple meals.”

“The more local the better as far as I am concerned,” Hobert said.