The Maine Farmland Trust today launched a campaign to preserve 100,000 acres of farmland throughout the state by 2014. The initiative, announced this morning at the annual state farm show in Augusta, was prompted by concerns that much of Maine's farmland will be in transition in the next 10 to 15 years as aging farmers sell off their farms or die.

What better place to unveil one of Maine's biggest farmland protection initiatives than the 70th Maine Agricultural Trades Show--the Pine Tree State's biggest farming expo?

"Farming in Maine is growing," said John Piotti, executive director of the Maine Farmland Trust. "Consumers are increasingly demanding the products that come from our local farms. We've seen an increase in our number of farms, we've seen an increase in our acres in production."

With the possible exception of the struggling dairy industry, Piotti says farming is a bright spot on Maine's economic landscape. With good quality land, abundant water, a diversified agricultural base and access to markets, Piotti says the state's farming fundamentals are strong.

But, he adds, with many Maine farmers approaching retirement age, protecting this land base means overcoming a major demographic challenge. "We estimate that upwards of 400,000 acres of Maine's best farmland--about a third of our farmland--will be in transition within the next 10 years simply because of the age of the farmland owners."

Seth Bradstreet is Maine's Commissioner of Agriculture. The aim of this campaign, he says, is to make sure that as younger farmers take over, the land is available to them at farmland prices, and not developers' prices.
The land is protected either through direct purchase, or through an agricultural easement.

"No farmer can afford to be profitable if they pay too much for farmland," Bradstreet said. "Preserving farmland suits a broader economic purpose than many people realize. Once farmland is preserved it will forever transfer its value as farmland, rather than as house lots. We need to preserve more farmland so that existing farmers can afford to expand and new farmers can enter the business."

As for Maine's realtors and developers, they seem to have no problem with plans to protect large tracts of land from realtors and developers.

"Being able to maintain more farmlands in the state of Maine is terrific," says Drew Sigfridson of the Maine Real Estate and Development Association. "It's always been a vital part of Maine's economy, and to be able to help local farmers is a good thing."

With plenty of land to go around in Maine, he sees no conflict of interest. "It's an ambitious goal, certainly, but one that we encourage them, and wish them all the best."

Indeed, this latest goal does require a significant acceleration of effort. Since its inception 11 years ago, the Maine Farmland Trust has worked to protect 22,000 acres--which is less than two percent of Maine's farmland. By contrast, in Vermont, over 30 percent of state farmland is protected.

The cost of protecting an additional 100,000 acres in Maine over the next four years is put at $50 million. Taylor Mudge heads up the Farmland Trust's fund-raising efforts. "This is a big number," Mudge acknowledged. "But the economic impact of 100,000 acres of productive farmland is expected to exceed $50 million every year--a very good return on your investment."

Mudge, a former farmer and the founder of the Maine State Cheese Company, says the initial fund-raising goal is somewhat lower at $10 million dollars, half of which has already been raised. "These funds will help us leverage an additional $40 million to secure our goal, but the first $10 million is critical," he said.

Once the initial $10 million is raised, Mudge sees the rest of the money coming from a variety of sources, including ongoing private donations, as well as state and federal funds.

Penobscot County dairy farmer Dick Perkins is one example of how the Farmland Trust's land protection scheme can help. "Two years ago we lost 117-acres of rented land, we're in an area with a lot of competition," he says.

Maine Farmland Trust stepped in and bought another farm in the area, which Perkins and his family now lease, with a plan to buy it soon. "And it has enabled us to feed a growing herd," he says. "We have just over 600 mouths to feed right now."

And without this additional land, he adds, they would have been in serious trouble.