Name:               Rainbow Farm

Address:           Noah Cimeno

                          Rainbow Farm

                          136 Egypt Lane

                          Franklin, Maine 04634

Phone:             207-460-2721

Email:              rainbowfarm41@gmail.com

Products and Services:

-raw wool

-lamb and mutton

-handmade knitted hats

-handmade knitting needles and spindles

-farm fresh eggs

-maple syrup

-yarn

What Makes Rainbow Farm Unique?

If you ever have had the opportunity to visit

the Youth Enterprise Zone at the Common Ground Fair, it is very uplifting to observe so many young people who are occupied with creative entrepreneurial undertakings that are agriculturally-related.  At the 2012 Common Ground Fair, Noah Cimeno’s offerings were truly outstanding.  He was sixteen years of age at the time, and his handwork, fiber products, and display were quite distinctive.

While Noah was attending first grade at the Waldorf School in Blue Hill he knew that he

wanted to farm.  His family had a small garden, but he was interested in acquiring farm animals. He is grateful to his parents, John Cimeno and Amy Singer, who have always been very supportive of his interest in agriculture.  Noah was able to acquire about a dozen chickens at that early age.  Before he knew it, he had twenty rabbits from his male and female rabbit pair.  Rainbow Farm had its beginnings when Noah was around six years of age!  In the eleven years that have elapsed since then, Noah has raised an amazing assortment of animals and has become quite well-known on the mid-coast farm scene. He began selling his products at the farmers’ market at the age of thirteen!

Noah used to raise chickens for meat, but he found that purchasing all the grain was very costly.  He now has 160 laying birds and meat rabbits.  He sells fresh organic eggs for $5 a dozen. He purchases his organic grain from the Maine Organic Milling Cooperative in Auburn. Over the years he raised some Cashmere goats, but he felt that the amount of cashmere that he obtained was not sufficient for the amount of effort and time.  A period of raising dairy goats followed, but he soon realized that he would not have the finances to become licensed with a commercial kitchen to sell the milk.

The focus of Rainbow Farm the past few years has been sheep.  Noah presently has sixty Icelandic ewes.  They were bred to a Suffolk ram so he will have quite a large number of Icelandic/Suffolk cross lambs this March.  He will raise them on pasture for four to five months. His lambs are brought to USDA certified slaughterhouses.  He sells the lamb at various farmers markets and stores.

A large assortment of cuts of lamb are offered by Rainbow Farm.  Noah sells ground lamb, kabobs, chops, stew meat, ribs, large leg of lamb steaks, and one pound leg of lamb steaks.  You can find his lamb at the Blue Hill Coop.

Running a farm at the age of seventeen has been quite a learning experience for Noah.  He is grateful to all the farms who have been willing to share their expertise with him including Mandala Farm at H.O.M.E in Orland and Genio and Sara’s Mandala Farm in Gouldsboro.  When he had his donkey that he used for draft work he was able to learn about draft animals from the Birdsalls at Horsepower Farm in Penobscot.  Many other farmers have generously reached out to help Noah along the way.

Noah took a class on shearing sheep at Wolfe Neck Farm in Freeport and he now shears his own sheep.  Several farmers have also stepped forward to help him learn about some of the animal health concerns that often arise. The class that Noah took at Darthia Farm on dying wool provided a background for him to work with his own wool.  He has used various plants to dye his wool such as indigo, madder, goldenrod, and onion skins.  He also has experimented with the use of acid dyes.

Noah’s raw wool is sold at the Fleece Tent at the Common Ground Fair.  He has become skilled in all the steps of working with wool - skirting, washing, carding, spinning, dyeing, skeining, and knitting.  His first experience with knitting came about when he was enrolled in a handwork class at the Waldorf School in Blue Hill.  He enjoys knitting hats and frequently relaxes by knitting after a day of farm work.  He explained that he finds the knitting to be very soothing while he is watching television or sitting by the fire.

Noah’s opportunities to sit down and relax are quite limited.  During lambing season he is up every two hours to check on the ewes.  He also works nonstop when the sap is flowing in the spring, since he sells maple syrup. During the summer,  his work day often spans from 7 a.m. through 10 or 11 p.m. He explained that he is not at the point in his life where he can exist solely from the earnings from his farm.

Noah has had to work on carpentry jobs to earn money.  He has bartered his labor with Lucien and Maggie Smith of the Smith Family Farm in Bar Harbor for bales of hay.  He saved to buy a 1994 Ford F150 and traded carpentry and roofing work with a neighbor for help with mechanical issues.  Having his own transportation has been such a godsend as he no longer needs to rely on other people to get around.

Besides not having sufficient capital to expand his farm operation, Noah has faced some additional hurdles.  The three acres where his farm is located is not sufficient pasture for all of his sheep.  He has been leasing land for the grazing of his sheep from two different farms. His dream is to be able to purchase his own farm.  Each fall he brings the sheep back to his barn from pasture.  Noah lives in a house that is off the grid and he appreciates the fact that his family has lived in such an energy-efficient manner.

Individuals interested in supporting Noah’s efforts to raise enough money to purchase his own land can purchase some of his products at the Blue Hill Farmers Market which is held at the Blue Hill Fairgrounds in the summer and at the Blue Hill Congregational Church in the fall on Saturday mornings.  You can also find his lamb and rabbit meat, mutton, hats, maple syrup, organic eggs, jams, handcrafted knitting needles and spindles, and raw wool  at the Winter Harbor Market at the Village Green on Tuesdays.

While just about every other profile in the Unique Maine Farms’ project focuses on farms with seasoned farmers that have been in existence for quite a bit of time, Rainbow Farm serves as a great inspiration for individuals thinking about farming as a career.  Noah Cimeno has held steadfast to his goal of owning his own farm since first grade.  He is contemplating scaling back some in the future and considering the possibility of becoming an apprentice at another farm to learn even more. With the commitment, work ethic, and resiliency that he has already demonstrated, it appears that Noah will be successful in fulfilling his dream of farm ownership in the future.