In 2021, Justin and Jennifer Doades were ready for career transitions. The couple had always grown food in gardens – sometimes hundreds of pots at a time. As they witnessed the supply chain issues and recalls caused by COVID-19, they decided to start farming food for themselves and their community.
That summer, after 11 years in the Coast Guard and a career in financial administration and nursing respectively, Justin and Jennifer made the leap to purchase a 35-acre farm along the Sheepscot River in Windsor, Maine. In the woods on their new property, they came across an old broken wagon wheel and decided to name their new business Broken Spokes Farm.
The following spring, Justin and Jennifer started their chicken flock. Heading into 2023 with 40 laying hens and 60 broilers on the way, the Doades still needed to form a legal entity for their business that would support their plans to grow the farm. So, they reached out to the Legal Food Hub.
In March 2023, the Hub matched the Doades with attorney Cecilia Guecia of Bopp and Guecia to identify and form the right kind of entity for their farm. Guecia provides a wide array of legal services for individuals, families, and small businesses in her community as founder and partner of a boutique law firm in Yarmouth, Maine. After discussing the Doades’ goals for their farm, the size of their assets, and their capacity for financial management, Guercia helped them incorporate Broken Spokes Farm as an LLC. Then, in late 2023, Broken Spokes Farm LLC made its first sale!
Now well on their way to their dream farm business, the Doades hope to establish pasture fencing and bring in a small belted Galloway cattle herd in 2025. They also plan to expand the availability of their pork and chicken meat products, start producing maple syrup and honey, and, hopefully, establish solar panels on the farm.