Editor’s note: Aroostook County Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the National Resources Conservation Service are highlighting Aroostook’s female farmers as part of the United Nations declaration of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer. Maine is participating in various ways to showcase the essential roles that women play within all aspects of agriculture.
Liz Wehmeyer
Keep Ridge Farm, Benedicta
Liz Wehmeyer describes her foray into what is now a full-time farming venture as a slippery slope. Slippery because a few backyard chickens soon included raising a couple of pigs, then getting a small herd of goats to fit the mountainous terrain of her family’s then-home in northern New Hampshire.
Eventually, she and her husband Keith began selling their meat birds and produce locally, while also working full-time jobs. And then, an opportunity came their way that ultimately proved life-changing in unexpected and positive ways.
For the Wehmeyers, this happened when Baxter State Park reached out to Keith with a job offer. His acceptance began the domino effect of a journey where things began falling into place in a way that felt seamless, despite the work involved. After finding the right farmstead in Benedicta for them and their young daughter, Ellie, they moved in 2021, trading living on a New Hampshire mountainside for expansive fields and view of Katahdin’s mountain range.
The move also provided Liz the opportunity to farm full-time, taking her experience gained since that first slippery step to create Keep Ridge Farm and a farm life for her family that she envisioned.
Since their move happened during the winter, their first summer was all about infrastructure, Wehmeyer said. From getting gardens in, building fences for the breeding stock of goats they brought with them, clearing brush and cleaning out the barn, there was a lot to set up and bring back to life since the farm had not been inhabited for some time.
Once they got their feet under them, they needed to decide how to market the vegetables and pasture-raised meat birds they processed on-farm. Another domino fell and led them to Houlton Community Market. Their first market season allowed them to introduce their Keep Ridge Farm products and begin building community relationships, which in turn helped generate local business at their small on-farm store.
Fast forward four years, and while the farm has grown in myriad ways, it has done so by looking back — farming in more traditional, old-timey ways. And yet another domino effect when they became friends with their close neighbors Menno and his Amish family. Menno became a mentor for Liz and family after they purchased a horse from him. “Chip,” as the horse is known, initially was to be used for Ellie to learn to ride and drive a cart. That quickly segued to learning how to work with horses and using them with field and woods work, rather than relying solely on a tractor.
Their relationship with Menno’s family became more entwined as Liz, Keith and Ellie learned how to harness and work with Chip, and soon another draft horse. Wehmeyer credits this mentoring from their friend as having opened up a whole new way to farm, which she believes makes their farm work more enjoyable.
She laughed a bit when she noted that a horse’s personality can make things go either way but overall, she finds that integrating horses has allowed them to include family activities into their farm. For example, during winter, when they need to cut firewood, they light a fire, bring some hot chocolate and let Ellie practice driving Chip across the field hauling a log. It feels more like a fun family activity rather than just another task that needs to be done.
Their farm has expanded in other ways, too. Along with the few hundred pastured chickens they process on-farm each year, they also have two heritage breed sows that they breed twice a year, selling the different pork cuts on-farm and at Houlton Community Market. Their animals graze on multiple pastures and livestock dogs keep their chickens safe from predators.
A goal of both Wehmeyer and her husband was to have their daughter be an integral part of their day-to-day farm life. Neither of them had grown up on a farm and it was something they both wanted for Ellie. Their life on Keep Ridge was once a way of life that was common, and knowing that Ellie is growing up learning these traditional skills is important.
Wehmeyer also does her best to keep the minutia of farm tasks from becoming boring for her daughter. She may have one of Menno’s daughters come by to help with something since it’s more fun to work when you are alongside a friend. Ellie sometimes gets to choose which task she prefers.
“Sometimes some tasks just need to get done,” Wehmeyer said.
Ultimately, she and Keith are always working towards making things easier and more sustainable to be able to farm long-term. With this mindset, they resist taking on too much and don’t push so far that it’s no longer any fun. If they decide to end a day of haying a bit early so they can go jump in the farm pond to cool off, they will take that jump every time.
It’s that balance that they strive to maintain in the midst of the many daily farm to-do’s and a life they wouldn’t trade for anything.
Angela Wotton works as the district manager for the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District, assisting landowners with stewardship of soil and water resources.
