Testimonial: Pat and Peter Beckett
Anyone who has harbored a dream of a different type of retirement, one connected to the natural world with its seasons and rhythms; with an interest in owning some land and learning the choices and challenges of how to grow vegetables and fruits organically, could not do better than to spend time working at True North Farms, learning from Sarah and Pic (Richard).
Disclaimer for this testimonial – we have had the good fortune to be friends of Sarah and Pic for many years. It has been a pleasure and an inspiration for us to witness their development into “real farmers” in what might have been the quiet of their retirement. Instead, in their late 60s they opted to take all their years of life, career and volunteer experiences and mold them into a new endeavor – the creation of their MOFGA-certified organic, True North Farms.
With our own aspirations as homesteaders in Maine, we felt privileged to have had many opportunities to spend time working at True North Farms and to see first-hand what retiring into a commitment to land-ownership and farming could mean. Our work on True North helped us to clarify what our own upcoming retirement might look like. The beautiful acreage and immense sky at True North gave us a sense of expansiveness in our retirement dreams, helping us to envision our senior years as an opportunity to continue to learn and change and grow – ourselves, as well as some of our own food. Working with Sarah and Pic gave us a real appreciation for what it takes to be commercial farmers and helped us to ground our dreams in those realities. Their generosity and commitment to sharing their harvest with local food pantries is a continuing lesson in how one can make a difference in the world in important and tangible ways throughout one’s life. We came to see how farming on whatever scale can foster a continued sense of living a purposeful life, of having something to contribute to society. At the same time, it has been our experience that what also takes root in retiring to farming is a sense of inner peace that comes from all of the above.
Sarah and Pic are wonderful teachers…there is nothing slap-dash or seat-of-the-pants about their farming style. You know you are working with very knowledgeable and committed people. They take their role as stewards of their land very seriously; they use cutting edge organic techniques; they are open to suggestions and favor a team approach to each workday. Most importantly, they are fun, kind, thoughtful, inclusive and community-minded people who are enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge and experience.
We can highly recommend spending time working at True North Farms for anyone but especially for those of “a certain age” who may be looking for an experience of what retiring into farming can be. We are so grateful for all we have learned from watching and working with Sarah and Pic. We’ve been inspired to take the big step forward of purchasing our own 22 acre homestead, bringing our retirement dreams into reality. Luckily for us, it’s not far from True North Farms!
Pat and Peter Beckett
Disclaimer for this testimonial – we have had the good fortune to be friends of Sarah and Pic for many years. It has been a pleasure and an inspiration for us to witness their development into “real farmers” in what might have been the quiet of their retirement. Instead, in their late 60s they opted to take all their years of life, career and volunteer experiences and mold them into a new endeavor – the creation of their MOFGA-certified organic, True North Farms.
With our own aspirations as homesteaders in Maine, we felt privileged to have had many opportunities to spend time working at True North Farms and to see first-hand what retiring into a commitment to land-ownership and farming could mean. Our work on True North helped us to clarify what our own upcoming retirement might look like. The beautiful acreage and immense sky at True North gave us a sense of expansiveness in our retirement dreams, helping us to envision our senior years as an opportunity to continue to learn and change and grow – ourselves, as well as some of our own food. Working with Sarah and Pic gave us a real appreciation for what it takes to be commercial farmers and helped us to ground our dreams in those realities. Their generosity and commitment to sharing their harvest with local food pantries is a continuing lesson in how one can make a difference in the world in important and tangible ways throughout one’s life. We came to see how farming on whatever scale can foster a continued sense of living a purposeful life, of having something to contribute to society. At the same time, it has been our experience that what also takes root in retiring to farming is a sense of inner peace that comes from all of the above.
Sarah and Pic are wonderful teachers…there is nothing slap-dash or seat-of-the-pants about their farming style. You know you are working with very knowledgeable and committed people. They take their role as stewards of their land very seriously; they use cutting edge organic techniques; they are open to suggestions and favor a team approach to each workday. Most importantly, they are fun, kind, thoughtful, inclusive and community-minded people who are enthusiastic about sharing their knowledge and experience.
We can highly recommend spending time working at True North Farms for anyone but especially for those of “a certain age” who may be looking for an experience of what retiring into farming can be. We are so grateful for all we have learned from watching and working with Sarah and Pic. We’ve been inspired to take the big step forward of purchasing our own 22 acre homestead, bringing our retirement dreams into reality. Luckily for us, it’s not far from True North Farms!
Pat and Peter Beckett
