October 30, 2026
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Emily Lad
Since purchasing and working with Maine Farmland Trust to protect 40 acres of farmland in Waldoboro in 2016, Allison Lakin and Neal Foley of East Forty Farm and Dairy and their farm business, Lakin’s Gorges Cheese, have seen both the physical landscape and their work on the farm evolve drastically. On a humid day in early July, we sat in on a round of cheesemaking with Allison while reflecting on the decade since becoming a Forever Farm and the future of the land under their forward-thinking stewardship.
East Forty Farm and Dairy was many years of work in the making before it ever came to be. Farmer Neal, or as Allison refers to him, “a one-man-haying machine,” spent decades in farming (largely dairy) before starting their operation in Waldoboro. And Allison, a true Jill of all trades, had a background in anthropology, museums, palm-reading, theatre, sailing, education, and the nonprofit world among other things, before she found her calling in cheesemaking. Allison began leasing space from another cheesemaker in Rockport for four years before seeking a permanent home for the business.
Making the leap into owning their own farm was far from straightforward. Neal and Allison saw upwards of 100 different properties before landing on this rolling 40 acres in Waldoboro, set against the Medomak River. Due to its size and desirable river frontage, the cost to purchase the farm would have been far beyond what’s affordable for a working farmer. “We were running out of time to make it happen and it was rather remarkable how hard [the staff at] MFT worked for it to all come together. From my understanding it was, at the time, the fastest easement MFT had ever pulled together."
Protecting a farm with an easement isn’t a one-time event. The title of Forever Farm is a promise that land will always be available for agricultural use, and for the farmers that work it, it’s an ongoing process to steward and strengthen the soil and the farm, in relationship with MFT. Allison and Neal aren’t just thinking about what’s most beneficial for their operation, but how decisions they make today will impact the next generation of farmers, and those that follow. And at MFT, we think about how we can support farmers in those efforts, whether through our own programs or linking them to other landscape management, climate resilience, and farm business resources.
Ten years ago, East Forty Farm had just 7 acres of open fields, the rest forested with impenetrable brambles and invasives. Employing their pigs as a field management tool to clear invasive plants and brush to open up additional land for grazing and silvopasture is not just a choice that benefits their capacity for cows, but future farmers as well. Allison and Neal have also made investments in their soil health and water management systems to reduce the impacts of flooding, drought, and soil erosion, leveraging support from MFT and federal grants. The same goes for the watershed that their land abuts. They work closely with the local river monitors who oversee the Medomak to ensure their farm has zero negative impact on that ecosystem, including the cove along their property that is home to the most profitable clamming site in Maine.
Once Neal and Allison had improved and expanded their pastures and found additional land to lease for haying, in 2021 East Forty Farm made the leap from buying in milk to fully relying on the supply from their own herd to produce their cheese. Across the pastures, you can see the tall grasses dotted with flowers. Allison says the point of the season directly impacts the flavor notes of the cheese. Earlier in the summer, after drinking a glass of milk from the bulk tank and remarking on its incredible sweetness, she realized the clovers were to thank. Edible flowers and plants growing amongst the grazing grass on the farm add complexity to the cheeses that change through the season, like the red clovers or allium. In their “Rockweed” cheese, the line of dried bladderwrack seaweed infused into the soft cheese can change slightly based on the diversity of the seaweed they harvest from the cove. You can hear more in their Cowside Suppers series, a farm-to-table experience rich with the science and story behind their products.
Walking around some of the lower pastures, Neal points to areas that used to be overgrown with rosa rugosa and other invasive plants. In the decade since buying and protecting the farm, the physical landscape has changed significantly, shaped by deliberate choices they’ve made to invest in the land and their business. And as a Forever Farm, their thoughtful stewardship of their farm and its landscape in partnership with MFT will have ripple effects on the generations of farmers to come.
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