Volume 19, No.1, Spring/Summer 2020

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Volume 19, No. 1

PERMIT NO. 30 FARMINGTON, ME

97 Main Street Belfast, Maine 04915

Spring/Summer 2020

phone: 207-338-6575 e-mail: info@mainefarmlandtrust.org website: mainefarmlandtrust.org RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

We all need farmers — and farmers need us In This Issue:

A note from MFT’s President & CEO

Page 01: A Note from our President: We all need farmers -- and farmers need us

This spring has been a challenging one for Maine farmers. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant impacts across our country’s food and farm systems, including for farm businesses in Maine. Necessary measures to contain the spread of the virus have resulted in the immediate loss of markets for growers, and ongoing market instability has threatened farmers’ access to credit and their ability to plan for the growing season.

At the same time, it has been amazing to see the Maine food and farm community pulling together and stepping up to feed our communities in new and creative ways. These last few months remind us that we are all interconnected, and we are all in this together. Now more than ever, it is clear just how important our local farm and food systems are to our community health and resilience, and how essential farmers and food workers are to our daily lives.

Page 02: Farmland Protection Page 03: Farmland Access + Viability Page 04: Farm Viability Page 05: MFT Gallery + Fiore Art Center Page 06: Policy + Research Page 07: Get Involved

Thank You to our featured Business Members!

For a full list of our business members, and to find out how your business can join, go to: mainefarmlandtrust.org/business-members 97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575

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97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575

The COVID-19 pandemic also underscores the foundational need to protect farmland, as well as the need to create equitable access to land.

Farmland is an essential element of community stability, health, and well-being. If we hope to grow regional farm and food system that can nourish all of us, we need to ensure we have the land and farmers to make that vision a reality. MFT’s work to protect farmland, and to support farmers with access to land, business planning services, and technical assistance is as important as ever—we simply can’t slow down now.

MFT has been working with farmers and partners across the state, Maine’s congressional delegation, and the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to ensure that funding is available for the producers in Maine who need it, and that there is support for Maine farmers and food businesses to address market disruptions, labor issues, safety needs, local food access for low-income community members, and all of the other issues that have resulted from this pandemic. This experience has also highlighted the

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important role that our local and regional food system plays in ensuring food security, and we are working to ensure that producers and food businesses in Maine are able to take advantage of any opportunities that arise.

We know that COVID-19 won’t be the last challenge we face. Climate change, economic unrest, and unforeseen trials are ahead, and what we do now is critical to make sure our farms, food system and communities will be more resilient in the future. MFT is working with our state and regional partners to help farms weather the uncertainty, and to use this moment as a turning point to accelerate the investment and growth of our local farm and food system. With your support, we will continue to work towards realizing our vision of a thriving agricultural landscape where farms feed our economy, steward our natural resources, and nourish our communities. I hope you’ll join us.

Bill Toomey 1

FARMLAND PROTECTION

GET INVOLVED

Fifteen More Farms Protected

Who we are

Since our founding in 1999, we have permanently protected 312 farms and have helped to keep over 60,000 acres of farmland in farming through our protection and viability programs. MFT has multiple tools to protect farmland, depending on the situation, and we often work in collaboration with partners.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

A FEW OF OUR RECENT FARMLAND PROTECTION PROJECTS:

Nezinscot Farm, Turner Gloria and Gregg Varney of Nezinscot Farm in Turner closed on the purchase of a 196-acre property in Livermore Falls, which was protected through our Buy/Protect/Sell program. At the same time the Varneys protected about 100 acres of their home farm in Turner with a conservation easement. The Varneys run a diversified dairy farm which includes a bustling farm store and café.

William Bell, Saco Jason Bolton, Orono Stacy Brenner, Scarborough Dave Colson, Vice Chair , Durham Meredith Eilers, Chair, Bowdoinham Walter Fletcher, Pittsfield Eleanor Kinney, Bremen James Lawrence, Rockport Susan Morris, Waldoboro Taylor Mudge, Camden Steve Page, Bremen Jon Olson, Mt. Vernon Henry Whittemore, Treasurer, Readfield

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STAFF

Libby Farm, Scarborough Stanley Libby and his family closed on the sale of an easement to protect their 81-acre Libby Farm in Scarborough. An Option to Purchase at Ag Value (OPAV) included in the easement will help to ensure the property remains in active agricultural use. Stanley was born on the farm about 80 years ago and the property has been in the family for hundreds of years.

Located in an area of high development pressure, the property is currently managed for hay, but the family hopes to transition the property to a new farmer in the future.

Spring Brook Farm, Cumberland Farmer Jeff Storey closed on the purchase of 26 acres of Spring Brook Farm in Cumberland.

Storey was able to purchase the land back from the Town of Cumberland thanks in large part to community support and an easement purchased by MFT and Chebeague and Cumberland Land Trust, which will protect the 200-year-old farm from development and ensure the land is available for farming for future generations.

Upland Farm, Shapleigh David Mann donated an easement on his 140-acre farm in Shapleigh. Upland Farm was established in 1792 and sits atop a ridge above Mousam Lake. Over the centuries, the farm’s tabletop fields have supported dairy, beef, and vegetable operations, and the productive fields are an important agricultural resource for the area. This farm is the latest in a number of collaborative farm protection projects we’ve worked on in partnership with Three Rivers Land Trust, where David is also a board member.

Maine Lee Morgan Horse Farm, Manchester Deb Plengey and Trudie Lee closed on an easement to protect their 77-acre Morgan Horse farm in Manchester. Trudie grew up on the farm, where her family milked cows and bred Morgan horses. Deb serves as a board member for Maine Farm Bureau and is an active member of the Kennebec County Conservation Commission. Just outside of Augusta and close to the turnpike, their farm is in an area of increasing development pressure and Trudie and Deb are thrilled to know their farming legacy will be protected for generations to come.

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Our work depends on you!

Don’t forget to renew your membership.

97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575

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Anna Abaldo, Gallery & Fiore Art Center Charlie Baldwin, Land Protection Adam Bishop, Land Protection Erin Cavallaro, Philanthropy Kat Champigny, Philanthropy April Costa, Stewardship Andrea Denny, Database Catherine Durkin, Farm Viability Abby Farnham, Farm Viability Alex Fouliard, Farm Viability Chris Franklin, Land Protection Karen Giles, Gallery Caila Gorniewicz, Philanthropy Caroline Ginsberg, Membership Ellen Griswold, Policy & Research Caitlin Hopkins, Land Protection Rachel Keidan, Outreach Sue Lanpher, FarmLink Lyndsey Marston, Stewardship Sarah Martel, Philantrophy LouAnna Perkins, Senior Legal Counsel Meghan Quinn, Outreach Tricia Rouleau, Land Protection Ellen Sabina, Outreach Kim Sanborn, Office Assistant Sarah Simon, Farm Access + Viability Brett Sykes, Land Protection Rachel Grant, Finance Manager Bill Toomey, President & CEO Kristin Varnum, Vice President and CFO Amanda Wheeler, Land Protection Reeve Wood, Legal Counsel Nina Young, Land Protection & MFR

97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575

STAY CONNECTED Our summer events may look a little different this year, but there will still be many ways to celebrate and connect with Maine farms! We will be offering multiple ways for you to stay involved-- keep an eye on our website for updates: mainefarmlandtrust.org/events

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PLAN YOUR GIFT We are grateful to those who have chosen to leave a lasting charitable legacy by including MFT in their will, trust, or estate plans. If you have decided to do so, please don’t forget to let us know! This ensures that funds are used at MFT in accordance with your wishes.

For more information, please contact Erin Cavallaro, erin@mainefarmlandtrust.org 7

POLICY + RESEARCH

FARMLAND ACCESS + VIABILITY Maine Legislature Adjourned The Legislature convened Tuesday, March 17th to approve a supplemental budget agreement and emergency COVID-19 measures before adjourning in response to the outbreak. The approved package contains increases in funding for the state to respond to COVID-19; establishes a loan guarantee program through FAME in partnership with financial institutions to provide low or no-interest loans; and temporarily expands eligibility for unemployment benefits for workers impacted by COVID-19, among other provisions. The approved $76 million supplemental budget supports a $120 million bond proposal, which includes a $105 million bond for transportation and a $15 million bond for the expansion of broadband in unserved and underserved areas (one of MFT’s policy priorities for this session). Unfortunately, MFT’s other state legislative policy priorities this session – including a bond to fund the Land for Maine’s Future (LMF) Program and the establishment of a state nutrition incentive fund – will not be addressed unless and until the Legislature reconvenes later this year.

Natural and Working Lands Working Group Ellen Stern Griswold, MFT’s Policy and Research Director, is part of the Maine Climate Council’s Natural and Working Lands Working Group, which is developing recommendations related to agriculture, forestry, and natural lands for the state’s updated climate action plan. Ellen and other working group members are developing recommendations to protect more farmland, support farmers in using climate-smart practices, and grow the local and regional agricultural economy to ensure our future food security.

Ellen presented at the February NWL Working Group meeting about different state policy and programmatic approaches for addressing climate change and agriculture. The Working Group will be providing its recommendations to the Maine Climate Council in June.

Farming for Wholesale teams up with the University of Maine Orono Business School

In February, over 70 farmers gathered in Presque Isle to learn from peers and experts how healthy soils practices can improve a farm operation. The day-long event included a plenary session with Brendon Rockey of Rockey Farms in Center, CO, who shared his experience implementing healthy soils practices on his 500-acre farm, where he raises specialty potatoes and quinoa. Through companion crops, animals, cover crops and flowers, Rockey’s farm sustains yields, has greater water efficiency and supports a flourishing ecosystem. Rockey shared the science behind his approach, and how his farming system supports not only soil health, but the overall farm’s health. Find videos of the presentations on the MFT website.

Stay connected to MFT’s policy work by visiting mainefarmlandtrust.org/public-policy 97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575

Maine FarmLink has been busy this spring helping farmland owners and farm seekers make connections. To date, FarmLink has helped facilitate a total of 227 links since 2002, totaling 24,627 acres across the state. The most recent five links were all made in Waldo and Cumberland counties. These recent links span various tenure arrangements, including sales, as well as leases and non-traditional arrangements. Two of the properties that were linked have also been protected through MFT’s Purchased Easement Program (PEP), which helped the oncoming farmers access the land more affordably.

We encourage landowners to reach out to FarmLink and we can walk you through the process of enrolling the property in the program. Another great tool for farmland owners is the Find a Famer list located on the Maine FarmLink website. Looking through this list might help you identify what farm seekers are looking for, and if you feel that your farm might match their interest, you can feel free to reach out to seekers directly. Farm seekers should keep an eye on our Available Properties list, as new farms are added every week.

For more information please contact FarmLink Program Coordinator, Sue Lanpher, info@mainefarmlink.org

Healthy Soils, Healthy Farms

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More connections with Maine FarmLink

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As part of our work to help farmers scale up to serve wholesale markets, our Farming for Wholesale (FFW) Program is developing a supportive network for producers navigating the complex process of growing their businesses. In Maine, and around the country, there are relatively few business advisors well-versed in the particular intricacies of farm businesses. To further our work to help farmers, and help cultivate more providers attuned to farms’ needs, this year, FFW began a partnership with the University of Maine Orono Business School to engage undergraduate students in providing business assistance to farms.

UMaine designed a capstone course that complimented our FFW 101 Program’s creamery co-hort, which offered a new curriculum tailored for value-added dairy producers. UMaine’s students attended FFW workshops with farmers, and met with farmers individually to learn more about their businesses and the big questions farmers have about how to be successful.

Students then worked through their analysis to help farmers answer those questions, all while supported by their professors and MFT staff. “It’s been a great opportunity to support farmers, while the students get to apply their skills and build real-world experience,” says Alex Fouilard, Farming for Wholesale Project Manager. “We hope collaborations like this help create a pathway for the next generation of agricultural service providers.”

97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575

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FARM VIABILITY

MFT GALLERY + FIORE ART CENTER MFT & MOFGA partner to offer Maine Farm Emergency Grants

In May, MFT and MOFGA awarded 76 farmers grants through the Maine Farm Emergency Grants program. The two organizations collaborated to fundraise and administer the grant program in response to the needs of Maine farmers impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. One hundred percent of the foundation funds that were raised for the grants went directly to the farm recipients to assist farms with a range of issues brought on by the pandemic. The grants ranged in amounts from $325 to $2,000, and a total of $141,100 was distributed through the program. Farms in nearly every county received funds, and include various types of farm businesses--from dairy farms to mixed vegetable growers, wild blueberry producers, orchardists and a hopyard. A key qualifier for the grant was that farms must have participated in a MOFGA or MFT program; many of the farm recipients have interacted with both organizations.

“The diversity of farms that applied for and received grants speaks to how many farms across the state have been bolstered by MFT and MOFGA’s programs in the past,” said Bill Toomey, MFT’s President and CEO. “It also shows how far reaching the impacts of this pandemic are for Maine’s farm businesses.”

Copper Tail Farm in Waldoboro was one of the 76 grant recipients, where Christelle and Jon McKee (pictured left) raise goats and specialize in farmstead cheese, yogurt, kefir, cajeta, goat milk caramels, and goat milk soap. When the pandemic hit, “We had to cancel Kid Hugging Days, our major spring income generating events at the farm,” said Christelle. “We rely on these events to purchase the supplies we need to start our season. The pandemic also greatly affected our Farmers Market, whose steering committee decided to close the market. We had to quickly pivot to create new avenues for our products. We opened our farm store and joined three different online marketplaces, and created an online pre-order system for our farmers market customers.”

While pivoting to online marketplaces has worked out well for their farm, Christelle added that, “the loss of our spring events income and the cost of unplanned purchases puts us in a challenging position. The grant will help cover the costs associated with moving our sales online, and to help cover the unexpected purchases of supplies we had to make this spring.”

“We are glad to be able to offer so many Maine farms a small infusion of assistance during these uncertain times,” said Bill Toomey, “but our work to support these and all Maine farms extends far beyond these emergency grants. MFT and MOFGA will continue to work together to ensure the viability of farms throughout the state through our respective complementary programs, which help farmers access land, education, and other resources they need to grow thriving farm businesses.”

The MFT Gallery and the Fiore Art Center have always aimed to inform, inspire, and connect people through art and agriculture. While our Gallery in Belfast and the Fiore Art Center in Jefferson will be closed until it is safe to resume public programming, we will be continuing gallery exhibits, residencies, and Open Studios through our virtual platforms. We hope our programs will continue to foster a sense of community.

In the MFT Gallery Virtual 2019 Fiore Residents Exhibit During the summer of 2019, six visual artists, one academic writer, one poet, one performance artist, and one gardener lived and worked together at Rolling Acres Farm in Jefferson, Maine. This collection of creatives were part of MFT’s Fiore Art Center residency program. This exhibit is a sampling of the work created while they explored relationships with the land, cycles of agriculture and the seasons, and new depths of creativity. The virtual exhibit is on display until July 3 on our website.

Far left: j.e. paterak, “Floating Bladderwort”; top right: Genevieve Cohn, “Within and Without”; bottom right: Tracey Cockrell, “Color Sound Harvest- Tomato, Cucumber, Leek”

200 Years of Farming: A Bicentennial Celebration In celebration of Maine’s Bicentenial, this show represents moments in the history, practices, triumphs, and challenges of farming in Maine over the last 200 years--from early homesteading to dairy, potatoes, blueberries, the local food movement, and present day changes and challenges. This exhibit will encompass a wide range of media to depict the long history of farming in Maine.

This exhibit will be on display July 13- October 2.

Right: Thérèse L. Provenzano, “Cradle Scythe with Land”

Summer Residents at the Fiore Art Center In the best interest of health and safety, MFT has made the decision to cancel this year’s in-person summer residency at Rolling Acres. We are excited that four residents have elected to do a virtual residency with us this summer as a way to further their work as it reflects on agriculture, environment and our current times.

Katie Addada Shlon is an interdisciplinary artist who uses the landscape to collaborate on new structures for sound performance. They will be researching permaculture and regenerative agriculture as well as using their experience as a farm manager at a small flower farm to create a bodied performance work. Photographer James Southard’s most recent project focused on dairy farmers in New England, the drop in dairy prices, and subsequent loss of farms that had been in families for generations (photo above). Sophie Kelmenson is a PhD candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of City and Regional Planning. She is excited to continue a piece of her dissertation work that examines labor trends in sustainable food systems, and policy mechanisms that aim to support these efforts. Margot Anne Kelley is a Mainebased writer who focuses on the relationships people forge with their natural environments. Her current project explores seed-saving as a link to history and ground for the future. We will be sharing news about their work through weekly virtual studio visits and other online platforms. Tune in on mainefarmlandtrust.org/jaf-art-center

Farm Fresh Rewards, a nutrition incentive program run by MFT, serves everyone: SNAP shoppers can buy more locallyproduced food Maine farmers gain new customers More food dollars stay in the local economy

Shoppers can also purchase food producing seeds & seedlings all season long!

Learn more at:

mainefarmlandtrust.org/farm-fresh-rewards 4

Always Celebrating Agriculture through Art

97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575

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97 Main Street, Belfast, ME 207.338.6575

mainefarmlandtrust.org

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