Recent Graduates Featured in BDN Article on Millennial Farmers
Several recent University of Maine graduates who have turned to farming as a career were mentioned in the Bangor Daily News article, “Forward, not back: The odds are Millennial farmers will fail. Why they pursue the good life anyway.” Margaret McCollough, who graduated in May with a degree in sustainable agriculture, has since returned to Arundel where she and her partner and UMaine alumnus Garth Douston started an organic vegetable farm in 2014, according to the article. McCollough and Douston gained the knowledge for starting a farm from a classroom, which allowed them the comfort of learning without fear of failure or making ends meet, the article states. As a student, Douston gained experience as a farm worker at UMaine’s Rogers Farm, and McCollough was farm manager at UMaine Greens where she grew salad mix for the university’s dining facilities. Jon Noyes, a 2012 UMaine graduate with a degree in international affairs and history, also was mentioned in the article. Noyes, who works on his family’s farm in Woodland, said farming appealed to him because he enjoys the solitude. The article was written by Danielle Walczak, a recent UMaine Honors graduate who studied journalism, creative writing and sustainable food systems.