Just as agriculture creates benefits for communities in numerous ways, there are a variety of municipal and regional planning initiatives towns in Maine are engaging in that offer important opportunities for advancing support for farms and farmland. Whether your town is working on a comprehensive plan, open space plan, climate action plan, local food action plan or broadband expansion plan, this session will explore how municipalities can support local farmland conservation and farm support goals through different types of local planning initiatives. Attendees will hear from three panelists with experience developing local plans that include goals and strategies for supporting agriculture.

Presenter: Thacher Carter, Municipal Policy Associate, Maine Farmland Trust

Moderator: Shelley Megquier, Policy and Research Director, Maine Farmland Trust

Panelists:

Harald Bredesen – Program Director, GrowSmart Maine

Denison Gallaudet – Lands & Conservation Commission Member, Town of Cumberland          

James Gardner – Town Manager, Town of Easton