This page has helpful information for current and prospective Farm Partners who are growing or want to grow medicinal plants for the Meeting House Farm herb growers' collaborative.
Below, you will find the following documents:
- FAQ for Farm Partners
- Options for Selling with MHF
- Sample Consignment Agreement
- Herb Drying Guide for the Northeast
If you would like to apply to become a Farm Partner, our annual enrollment period starts January 1st and goes through the end of February. An application form will become available on our Join the Collaborative page when enrollment is open.
Check out the amazing folks who make up Our Grower Family here.
FAQ for MHF Farm Partners
Do Farm Partners have a standard growing practice to adhere to?
- All growers with Meeting House Farm grow regeneratively and organically. Many of us follow biodynamic methods. We do not require farms to be certified organic but we do visit every farm and talk with you about your farming methods. We are a collaborative of small farmers who harvest this beautiful herbal medicine by hand – resulting in high quality medicine for local herbalists.
What about soil health?
- Soil health should be your first priority. Please get a soil test of your growing area.
What does the MHF Collaborative accept?
- We welcome plants that offer to share themselves in your life and are loved, tended, and dried by you.
- We typically do not take extracts or other preparations. The extracts in our store were prepared under state license in our facility, or a facility that we have already thoroughly inspected and is licensed as well.
How should I store my plants for transport?
- Herbs should be stored in barrier bags or food grade plastic buckets. See the Herb Drying Guide below for more details.
What is the payment structure like?
- You can choose from 2 different models listed below. Up-front for 2nd year growers and consignment.
How do I get my herbs to MHF?
- The first time you consign or sell with us, we will come to you to pick up your dried plant material. You can get them ready in paper or parchment bags for us - we will store them in biodegradable paper barrier bags in our certified facility. We will want to get to know you and ask you questions about your story, your growing practices and your relationship with the herbs.
- We offer an herb pick up – (monthly in the north east) – usually the first week of the month during the season June – November. You are also welcome to drop off at our farm at any time
What happens to my herbs once they reach MHF?
- We will re-bag and label your herbs, take a picture and get them on the website. We aim to do that within the week but during the height of the season it can take a month.
What quantities do you accept?
- We accept 1lb of an herb or more. We will do a pick up for at least 5 lbs of dried herbs.
- We must re-weigh your herbs. We can only count herbs in increments of 1 oz. If you send us 10 lbs of tulsi and .5 oz, we can’t easily sell the .5 oz so we will pay you for the 10 lbs. As we grow we hope to use these “little bits” to combine between farms, but for now the volume isn’t there for this option.
- After we weigh your herbs you will receive a receipt from us that will include how we bagged it for sale
Are my herbs labeled with my name or yours?
- Your herbs will always be labeled with your farm name in our online store, no matter which model you choose, as transparency is one of our top values in the Collaborative.
- Your herbs are most often sold as single source – we do not white label. The bags that people receive will be labeled with your farm name, under our branding. The exception is when we are filling a very large wholesale order that one farm can not fill on their own. For example: the Calendula currently sold at Portland Food Co-Op is from Patch Farm and Meeting House Farm. We label this as Meeting House Farm herb growers' collaborative for simplicity.
Why are there two different prices for the same variety of plant on your website?
- We are a certified organic farm and as such are required to show price difference between certified organic and non-certified. This is evident in all of our pricing.
Is there a cost to join the collaborative?
- There is a one time $25 fee to join the collaborative – this helps us pay for gas to visit your farm and get your web page set up.
What are the perks of joining the collaborative?
- We strive meet as a collaborative regularly to build community, share farming tips, seeds, wisdom, go in on bulk supply orders together.
- Your herbs will have the opportunity to be sold in our online store at www.meetinghouse.farm as well as on the shelves of our growing stockist list including storefronts, apothecaries, groceries and co-ops across Maine.
- We offer to feature you in our marketing campaigns including our website, social media & emails. We respect your level of comfort around that, and your story can be as anonymous or intimate as you are comfortable with.
- You get a discount code to use in our herbal marketplace.
- We invite you to offer our customers a pre-order option for your herbs if you believe you will be able to produce 2 pounds or more in the upcoming growing season.
Options for Selling with MHF
Up-Front Model
- This is the simplest option. It is available for 2nd year growers and growers who can deliver at least 2lbs of each herb.
- We pay 70% of the Wholesale price upfront. Please feel free to request the 2022 pricing guide for growers for examples of grower prices.
- The 30% goes toward your bio page on our website, pictures of the herbs, bagging, labeling, social media marketing and sales to co-ops.
- Payout occurs via Venmo once we have your herbs weighed in house. Payouts occur monthly.
Consignment Model
- This is a great option for first year growers. It lets us guide you through herb quality in your first year and limits risk for all of us.
- Consignment is 70% to the farmer 30% to Meeting House Farm. The 30% goes toward your bio page on our website, pictures of the herbs, bagging, labeling, social media marketing and sales to co-ops.
- Payouts occur quarterly in the first month following the end of the quarter, via Venmo.
- This option requires that you sign a consignment agreement with us (sample below).
Regardless of the option you choose you will receive a receipt when we weigh in your herbs and again when we pay out if you are on consignment. We need for you to stick with the option you choose for the year. We perform a yearly audit in January to ensure we’ve accounted for all of your herbs. If we don’t sell your herbs in 18 months we will put them on sale the following January. If they don’t sell in 20 months we will return them to you or offer to donate them to a local group – typically this is either the Wabanaki nation or a women’s shelter in the area.
Here is a sample PDF of our consignment agreement.
Herb Drying Guide (American Northeast)
Feel free to send us a note if you have questions, and keep in mind we only accept new Farm Partners in the months of January and February every year.
