Signing up with the Oyster River Farm Express was one of the first things Loren Brown did when he moved to Rockland last summer. He was eager to get to know local farms through the winter community supported agriculture venture, which delivers wine from Oyster River’s Warren vineyard, as well as meat, vegetables, cheese and bread from other local producers. Plus, the opportunity to deliver shares by horse-drawn carriage was too good to pass up.

“I’ve gotten to know the city and the people this way,” explained Brown, who joins Oyster River’s proprietor Brian Smith and the farm’s Belgian draft horse, Don, to deliver local food up and down Rockland’s Main Street each week. “You see things you wouldn’t see if you were zooming by in a car. The exercise, the fresh air, the sights, the people. It’s all on a more sensible scale.”

That’s what Smith was aiming for when he hatched the horse-drawn delivery plan. He likens farming with Don to something like skiing or surfing.

“There’s a natural flow to the thrill of working the vineyard with a horse," he said. "It’s fun, cruising around town with the horse.”

'You certainly couldn’t do this with any horse. But Don is very alert and smart. It took him a couple of weeks to get comfortable, but now he knows the route and makes a lot of the stops without me telling him.'

There’s a practical aspect, too. By generating income from November through March, the Farm Express helps spread the vineyard’s inherently seasonal labor and income over the whole year.

“As farmers, we typically have more time in the winter,” Smith explains, “and we try to make that time more productive.”

After an unsuccessful experiment with a retail store, it was clear that direct-to-consumer sales were ideal. The Farm Express delivery service is as direct as you can get, and Smith knew Don was up to the challenge.

“You certainly couldn’t do this with any horse," he said. "But Don is very alert and smart. It took him a couple of weeks to get comfortable, but now he knows the route and makes a lot of the stops without me telling him.”

The only thing missing was the wagon for Don to pull, but a Kickstarter campaign last August took care of that. In less than three weeks, it raised more than $10,000, enough to purchase a vintage carriage that was used to deliver produce in New York and Philadelphia in the 1930s, and to cover some of the start-up expenses.

“Kickstarter developed a lot of energy around the whole project,” said Smith. “Not just the funding, which was really important, but the enthusiasm, too.”

The next step was building a balanced share. Though Smith plans to grow more storage crops at Oyster River next season, this year his farm’s only contribution is the wine, so he reached out to farmer friends for a wider offering. The idea is that recipients can prepare a meal from the week’s share, and “that’s what people usually do,” says Jen Marshall, who helps organize the Farm Express. “Recently we had a 'pizza week,' and the box contained pizza dough from Uproot Pie Co., fresh mozzarella from Appleton Creamery, sausage from Guinea Ridge Farm, pizza sauce, and the Oyster River rose wine. The recipients loved it!” (Several even posted pictures of their Farm Express pizzas on the group’s Facebook page.)

In other weeks, the meat might come from Old Crow Ranch, Terra Optima Farm, or Two Sisters Farm, and there’s usually fresh bread from Atlantic Baking Company. Basic shares are $39 each week, and customers can add eggs and other extra products.

“We’re trying to get more energy around those add-ons, to have people really do their shopping with us,” says Smith.

Approximately 60 customers have subscribed for weekly delivery, and more are signing up each week.

“People, especially kids, love seeing the horse pulling the wagon and often stand outside of their homes waiting for the delivery wagon to arrive,” says Marshall.

Though there’s clearly something special about horse-drawn delivery, out-of-downtown-Rockland customers can arrange to pick up shares at Atlantic Baking Company at Oyster River Farm, and Smith hopes they’ll appreciate the Farm Express as a way of connecting to local food.

“If people eat this kind of food anyway, it’s a good deal,” he says. “It’s not just a novelty.”

Kathleen Meil writes about home and family, reading and writing, and life in the small village of Rockville at www.AvidWord.com. Look for her book, Eating Fresh in New England, from Cadent Publishing next spring.