Your Farmers
Photo: Nicholas Navarre
Brittany Hopkins and Joy Trueworthy have owned and operated Wise Acres Farm in Kenduskeag, Maine since 2011. They got married on the farm in 2013 and became moms in 2021.
Brittany is Wise Acres' head farmer, bean-counter and tractor-driver. Before setting her sights on a career in organic farming, she had a long flirtation with plants, farming and food, including many years of hanging out at Maine agricultural fairs as a kid and a stint volunteering in an urban garden while living in New Jersey after college. Starting in 2009, she spent three wonderful seasons learning how to grow and market vegetables as an apprentice and farm worker at Peacemeal Farm, Parker Family Farm, and Fisher Farm in central Maine. She is also a graduate of MOFGA's Journeyperson Program. She finds farming to be a source of endless challenge and interest and tries to remember that, as Wendell Berry wrote, "The mind that is not baffled is not employed."
Brittany is an officer of the Ellsworth Farmers' Market and the Bangor Farmers' Market.
Joy is the farm's weekend warrior and vegan. She works off the farm during the week and spends just about every Saturday and Sunday helping customers and stocking veggies at our market stands. She has also been known to bag carrots and pick berries when the mood or the need arises. A 12th-generation Mainer, she has ancestors who established homesteads and farms in southern Maine and the Ellsworth area as far back as the 1600s.
Photo: Rebel Elephant Art
Each season, a dedicated team of employees makes it possible for us to get the veggies from our brains and seed packets to our market booths. Visit our employment page (link up top) for more info about working with us!
Joy and Brittany receive a significant amount of moral support (but absolutely no practical support) from their two cats, Latke and Wiebke (a.k.a. Winnie).
Farm Reading
We are big readers, and books and blogs have played a major role in inspiring us to pursue farm life and informing our farming practices and philosophy. Click here to see a list of some of our favorites!
Our Name
The first incarnation of Wise Acres Farm was owned by Brittany's parents, Paul and Marilyn Hopkins, who raised a herd of Nubian dairy goats on their homestead. Brittany spent her first two years there and spent many years after that showing descendants of Wise Acres-bred goats in 4-H. She feels lucky to have parents who already thought up a good farm name and don’t think she’s completely crazy for wanting a career in agriculture!