PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — One of Aroostook County’s largest orchards will share samples of their new dried apples and berries at the Northern Maine Agri-Business Trade Fair, joining more than a dozen other local farms and food businesses showcasing their products.
The 37th annual Northern Maine Agri-Business Trade Fair has a new addition this year for the weekend-long event March 24 and 25: a specialty foods sample space joining the array of traditional farm and forestry displays.
Circle B Farms, an apple and blueberry orchard in Caribou, will take advantage of the trade fair to introduce locals to their new dried apples and blueberries, aka blueberry raisins or “Blaizins.”
“We’ve been kicking this idea around for a five or six years,” said Circle B owner Sam Blackstone about the dried fruits. “We’ve been test marketing it and waiting until the time is right.”
The dried apples and blueberries work well for granola, trail mixes, baking and snacking, and the Blackstones have been gathering opinions from family and customers on them. TheBlackstones are selling the dried fruits direct from the farm, as the owners try to gauge the market for them.
“We might put a few on our website and see what kind of response they get,” Blackstone said.
Other local food vendors who will be at the trade fair are also looking to judge the market for their goods.
Chops Ahoy Farm, a Woodland pork farm specializing in free range, organic pork, and MisFit Farms of Westmanland, which sells honey, garlic and shallots among other crops will be among those producers at the Presque Isle trade show.
Other vendors include Bouchard Family Farms of Fort Kent, sellers of buckwheat, ployes mix and beef, and Aroostook Beef Co. of New Canada. There will also be two bakeries — Easton Center Bakery and Country Bakery of Bridgewater — and two coffee roasters, Storibord Coffee Roasters of Fort Fairfield and Northern Grind of Limestone.
“We have seen an explosion in interest in locally grown and sourced products in other parts of Maine, with restaurants and food festivals helping connect customers with these products,” said Tim Goff, executive director of the Fort Fairfield Chamber, which organizes the trade fair.
“Given our rich agricultural history, and the myriad of high-quality products being made here in Aroostook County, it just made sense to bring it all together under one roof.”
