2024 Annual Impact Report
Stacy Brenner President & CEO
Maine Farmland Trust
As Maine Farmland Trust celebrates its 25th anniversary year, it is my tremendous joy and honor to be the first farmer to lead MFT as President & CEO.
As a farmer, I have experienced both the challenges of farming – and the immense fulfillment of supporting my family on the income of a successful farm operation. My husband and I were among the first farm seeker clients MFT assisted through the Maine FarmLink program in 2004, and Broadturn Farm has MFT to thank for its assistance in the growth and development of our thriving farm.
My deep commitment to MFT’s mission led me to join MFT’s Board of Directors, where I served for 6 years, before joining staff as Senior Advisor for Farmland Access in 2022.
At this 25-year inflection point, I am ready and enthusiastic to increase our impact and significance to farmers and farmland in Maine. In collaboration with MFT’s dynamic team, Board, membership, and the farmers who are at the heart of our mission, I look forward to all that we can achieve in the next quarter century – and beyond.
Photo: Katahdin View Farm, Hampden
Farmland Protection and Access
1,720+
acres of farmland protected with agricultural conservation easements across 12 farms
acres of Maine’s best agricultural soils protected 885+
545
acres with an Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value (OPAV) across 5 farms
366
acres of farmland in transition remained in active agriculture through 6 links to new farmers
At Maine Farmland Trust, we protect farmland from non-agricultural development and work to make it more affordable and accessible to incoming farmers,
As farmer Andy LeMaistre of PAL Livestock in Merrill (Aroostook) prepares to sell his expansive beef operation, he worked with MFT to protect his 400+ acre farm with over 280+ acres of agriculturally valuable soils in May. The farm is currently listed on FarmLink for interested farm seekers.
Farmland in transition
Farmland in changing communities
Katahdin View Farm in Hampden (Penobscot) has been a farm for generations. Janice Von Brook and her daughter Carol Lamb have hundreds of photos of the farm’s history. Janice and Carol worked with MFT this year to protect the 123-acre farm with an easement, including an OPAV that will help to keep the farm in active agriculture if the land changes hands.
Janice and Carol also invited MFT staff to join them at the Hampden Historical Society in July for a presentation about farmland protection and the farm’s history as the land developed around it. These GIS map images show the development that has sprung up around the farm over the last 30 years.
1991
farmland protection projects in process for 2025 and beyond 40+
2023
farmland, grow the success of their businesses, adapt to a changing climate, and navigate emergent challenges.
Planning for the future
MFT partnered with three Farm Network farms for a succession planning pilot, with staff from Farmland Protection, Stewardship, Climate Resilience, and Farm Business Planning supporting farmers with their plans to transfer their farms to the next farmer. In collaboration with Land for Good, MFT offered succession planning workshops in Auburn, Farmington, and Augusta this fall/winter, facilitating a farmer panel and providing an overview of assessing and planning a farm transfer, vision & goal-setting, and building an action plan. Special thanks to Northeast SARE for supporting this work.
“You don’t know what you don’t know. For us, that was seeing and interpreting the profit & loss financials e ectively to know what truly was and wasn’t working.”
This year, we significantly expanded our Climate Resilience efforts, launching a brand-new suite of tools & resources.
Nearly 40 Farm Network farms were selected to receive Climate Resilience Assistance Grants of $5,000 each. Several grantees from the spring cycle used the funds in response to last year’s record rainfall, investing in water systems and drainage. Others responded to the three prior summers of drought, purchasing drought-tolerant seeds and shade cloth. Funds for the second cycle of grantees, selected in December, will be disbursed in the new year.
-Catherine Caswell, Caswell Farm in Gray (Cumberland)
With the $500 seed grant and technical assistance from MFT’s Business of Farming program, Caswell Farm owner Catherine Caswell and Farm Manager Mallory Ross revamped their farm website to reflect their new business venture, A Little Something at Caswell Farm, offering a diverse range of on-farm activities, workshops, and culinary experiences.
Supporting farm business goals
The new Climate Adaptation Planning program launched this fall, with 17 farms selected to receive individualized climate risk assessment, goal-setting, and planning support over 3 months. Upon completion next year, the farms can apply for a $5,000 mini-grant toward implementation.
Aldermere Farm (Rockport), Tiny Acres Farm (Montville), and Misty Brook Farm (Albion) are participating in a special climate resilience landscaping project with MFT, working with a landscape architecture firm to identify ways that the whole farm landscape can contribute to the farms’ climate resilience – from pollinator meadows and natural windbreaks to forests and streams.
Special thanks to the TD Bank Group for supporting the growth of our climate resilience programs with the TD Ready Challenge award.
Growing Power for Farms
policymakers, farmers, and advocates engaged through local, state, and federal policy and research efforts
municipalities supported with technical assistance and guidance 20+
public testimonies delivered on farming-related bills in the State Legislature 11
people reached through policy outreach and engagement activities and events
Public policy shapes resources available to farmers, including farmland conservation, climate-smart tools, and market and economic infrastructure development.
Farm-friendly communities
This year, we released the Second Edition of Cultivating Maine’s Agricultural Future: A Policy and Planning Guide for Towns. The 150+ page guide includes detailed resources and guidance on policy tools and planning strategies towns can utilize to support farms and protect farmland in their communities.
We organized a 5-part webinar series to dive deeper on topics in the guide, with guest panelists from towns and farms across the state sharing their knowledge and experiences. And we partnered with local economic development groups to host community discussions about municipal strategies to support agriculture and share copies of the guide in Caribou, Patten, and Machias.
We worked hard to get support and funding for several priority bills in the State Legislature this year. A major success was helping to secure a 25% increase in payments for dairy farmers in the Maine Dairy Stabilization (“Tier”) Program, plus $7 million in one-time relief funding. Another win was an act allowing municipalities to
We accomplished so much in our 25th year! We celebrated new staff, new Board members, and new leadership, all while expanding many of our programs.
Who We Are
40
staff members working together to protect farmland, support farmers, and grow the future of farming
2,140+
individuals supporting our mission with a membership in FY 2024, including 229 new members
60+
local businesses investing in the farms in our communities with a membership in FY 2024
Growing our capacity and programs
As we continue to grow and evolve our farmland protection efforts, Chris Cabot (left) and Brett Sykes (right) have joined MFT’s Leadership Team as Co-Directors of Farmland Protection & Access, with 14 years of experience at MFT between them.
We also grew the capacity of our Farm Network team to deliver programs and individualized support to farmers. Martha Putnam joined as an additional Farm Business Planning Project Manager. Allison Bistline-East is the new Climate Resilience Program Manager. In partnership with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Bree Fink is providing technical assistance to farmers in MFT’s programs, while also supporting farmers in accessing federal NRCS conservation and climate-smart programs. Farmland Protection Project Manager Sean Hagan and Land Steward Emily McCarthy joined the climate resilience team half-time, sowing stronger connection between climate resilience and other programs.
Member power
In June, Hampden artist Kay Carter celebrated her birthday by selling a collection of her artwork to benefit MFT’s ongoing work to support PFAS-affected farmers, raising awareness among 100+ guests and generating more than $3,400 in donations. It’s amazing to see the power of what just one member can do!
Thanks to you, we’ve made so much progress over the past 25 years.
As other states grapple with PFAS, MFT helped shine a light on Maine’s leadership.
In the Media
57,000+
acres of farmland protected across 390 farm properties, spanning all 16 counties
260+
farm properties connected to farm seekers, helping farmers access the land they need and keeping 25,500+ acres of farmland in active production
PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ could be contaminating millions of acres of farmland
Radio story by Teresa Homsi, heard on All Things Considered, March 28, 2024
Building a PFASFree Future
Podcast by Arielle King, April 24, 2024
300+
farms supported with business planning, climate resilience, or PFAS programs, plus $1.5+ million in grants to farms
‘They told us that this material would be safe.’ Toxic PFAS discovered on US farms
Video by Matt Gannon, May 2, 2024
Why Maine is Taking the Feds to Court Over
Sludge
Article by Kirsten Lie-Nielsen, June 17, 2024
97 Main Street Belfast, Maine 04915
phone: 207-338-6575
e-mail: info@mainefarmlandtrust.org website: mainefarmlandtrust.org
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Special thanks to these 2024 business members:
