WINDHAM — Local officials welcomed the announcement of a farming co-op that aims to support Maine veteran farmers, grow agriculture in the state, and provide jobs and training.

At North Star Sheep Farm in Windham last week, participants in the MaineFirst Co-op heralded its creation as significant for Maine veterans and the state’s agricultural sector.

A major linchpin in the veteran-owned co-op plan is its purchase of the Windham Butcher Shop from current owners Dana and Tracey Mains, a move the group says will provide the co-op with a reliable facility to process their meat products in Maine.

The effort has been a collaborative process several years in the making, its creators said, led in part by the Bangor-based United Farmer Veterans of Maine.

“United Farmer Veterans of Maine has been working diligently outside the box here in Maine to grow our agricultural economy through many of our amazing veterans,” said its president and CEO Jerry Ireland, a former Army intelligence analyst. “This marks a new path for all of us as we begin the next chapter of veterans in agriculture development that includes not only growing Maine food, but processing it and adding extra value to what we all know to be great food from Maine, grown by our veterans.”

The co-op also plans to expand the butcher shop to accommodate its membership, but Ireland stressed that the Mains will stay on at the butcher shop and that existing employees and customers at the butcher shop are “100 percent going to stay the same.”

The Mains said they were initially unwilling to sell, but were ultimately convinced by the co-op’s mission and the ability to keep their staff and customers.

“It just kept sounding better and better,” Tracey Mains said after the Oct. 20 event. “That’s really what’s important to us – about employees and customers.”.

The Mains declined to say how much they are selling the business for, as did Ireland. A press release announcing the purchase did say that it is a “multi-million-dollar transaction.”

Lisa Webster, who owns North Star Sheep Farm with her husband Phillip, will oversee the transition and expansion.

North Star Sheep Farm is what United Farmer Veterans of Maine considers a “patriot farm,” because the owners have family members who are veterans or active duty military. Webster said that she has four nephews active in the military.

She stressed that the co-op will allow Maine veteran-owned farms and other farms like hers to access in-state protein processing. She said that she is currently sending her lamb to Vermont to be processed.

Webster also emphasized the importance of collaboration in making the project a reality.

“That’s the key to it. It’s too big for any one person to do on their own,” Webster said.

Windham Economic Development Corporation Director Thomas Bartell said after the event that he credits Webster for reshaping his view of agriculture.

“She convinced me that farming is not about saving the land, it’s about business – business opportunity,” said Bartell, who noted that the WEDC has not had a direct role in the co-op.

Robert Hanish, a real estate broker with Berkshire Hathaway, said he is serving as a founding director of the co-op in order to benefit farmer veterans.

“That’s what drives me,” said Hanish, a Navy veteran who lives in Stockton Springs.

Hanish said that he has been helping United Farmer Veterans of Maine on a mostly volunteer basis and has worked with Ireland on the co-op “from the very inception.”

Windham’s two state representatives Mark Bryant, a Democrat, and Patrick Corey, a Republican, both seemed encouraged by the plan as they left the event together last Friday.

Corey said that the co-op is a “win for farmers and a win for veterans.”

“And certainly a win for Windham,” added Bryant.

Windham Town Councilor David Nadeau was also on hand last Friday, and was similarly impressed with what he heard.

“I just think it’s an excellent opportunity for the state and the town of Windham,” said Nadeau.

Matt Junker can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or mjunker@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @MattJunker.

United Farmer Veterans of Maine CEO and President Jerry Ireland and North Star Sheep Farm co-owner Lisa Webster helped unveil a new veterans farming co-op in Windham on Oct. 20.

Windham Butcher Shop owners Dana and Tracey Mains have decided to sell their business to the MaineFirst Coop but will stay on in new roles – and say that their current employees and and customers will also stay in place.

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