CAMDEN — If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village and then some to raise local foods. One of Camden's largest farm properties, with prime agricultural soils, a prominent location, and a long history of active farming (with thousands of chickens and hundreds of sheep) could easily have gone into house lots, had it not been for a remarkable community effort. Rokes Farm on outer Mechanic Street will soon be purchased by a young couple eager to revive food production there, but donations are still needed to cover the costs of an agricultural easement that will keep the land available for farming.

The Rokes Farm acquisition, together with another Camden farm known as the Spear property, represents 54 acres of farmland that is currently the focus of a local fundraising effort of Maine Farmland Trust and Maine Coast Heritage Trust.

The joint campaign, “Saving Camden Farmland for Farming” emphasizes revitalizing local farming, and the financial goal is to raise $303,000, the value of the agricultural easement for the properties. The sale of Rokes Farm is subject to the conservation easement that ensures the farm is kept available for farming forever. Due to the easement prohibiting development, the buyers are paying a price based on the fair value as farmland.

"We were fortunate to have all the essential ingredients for success with this project," said Ciona Ulbrich of Maine Coast Heritage Trust, one of two nonprofit land trusts helping to protect the 40-acre farm. "The former landowner Tom Rokes, whose father, Horace, the land for six decades, wanted it to stay in active production and worked patiently with us. Maine Farmland Trust stepped in to purchase the farm temporarily as part of its buy-protect-sell program, and community members have pitched in to help cover project costs. Finally, we found an energetic and experienced couple — Cooper Funk and Marina Sideris — to work the land."

Marina Sideris grew up right across from Rokes Farm, looking out over its fields from her bedroom window. Her husband, Cooper Funk, whose extended family farmed in California's Central Valley, says they had long "fantasized about the Rokes property but never thought it would be available or within our reach." An agricultural easement, supported by a federal grant and donations from community members, helped make the land affordable for farming.

Funk, who has been running Dinner Bell Farm near Grass Valley, Calif., with two partners, looks forward to getting Rokes back into active vegetable and animal production, while continuing the established storage business. He knows it will take a while to get up and running, adjusting to a new climate and getting to know the Midcoast community. They plan to revive the farm stand as a key anchor for marketing products, and may do direct sales to restaurants. Funk anticipates raising pasture-based hogs and possibly lambs along with row crops.

Funk and Sideris are committed to farming that is good to the earth and economically viable. "It's imperative to have the farm used for agrarian/food systems education," he said. "We see the beauty and opportunity of Rokes being its location, and want people to visit and see first-hand what we're doing."

That open invitation to the community, he said, is critical to the marketing of small farms: "We have a responsibility to do education and outreach if we want a sustained market."

While the move east comes at a hard time for the couple (leaving behind a home, Cooper's family and farm partners in California they had greatly enjoyed), they look forward to settling here. One of the many appealing aspects of the Penobscot Bay region, Funk said, is the "huge enthusiasm for local and farm-fresh food." He's also drawn to the "real feel of community and the cosmopolitan feel of its coastal towns." With an infant son, they look forward to living close to Marina's family. Other friends from her childhood are coming to a similar realization," Funk reflects, and are moving back to the Midcoast from far-flung settings.

"It is a wonderful place to raise a family," he said.

To donate to the Rokes Farm project, send checks written out to "Saving Camden's Farmland" to Maine Farmland Trust, 97 Main Street, Belfast 04915.