Growing Local: From Cedar and Pearl
By John Piotti, from his column "Cedar and Pearl" in The Republican Journal. Ten years ago, the best kept secret in Maine was that farming here—after decades of decline—was growing. Today,…
Enriching Land and Life
Cultivating land can enrich our lives beyond the basic provision of agricultural products. Last June, Maine Farmland Trust closed on a purchased easement with…
Land protection project helps grow local ice cream business
There are many reasons to protect farmland, and there is often an added economic benefit to farmland owners. By selling the development rights on a farmland property, land owners can then use those funds to re-invest in their farm business,…
Maine FarmLink event; like speed dating?
One of the organizations we love partnering with is Land For Good, which works to increase farmland access throughout New England. We recently sponsored a FarmLink event that included a panel with Jo Barrett, the Maine Field Agent for Land For Good. Here is…
Making New Connections
An intro to FarmLink from our Winter 2013 newsletter: Land access is a particular challenge for beginning farmers. MFT’s FarmLink program helps farmland seekers connect with farmland owners, in an effort to facilitate affordable land transfer. To date, FarmLink has…
A Link and Land Protection in Bowdoinham
A snippet of our recent work, from our Spring 2014 newsletter: David Asmussen of Blue Bell Farm is the latest young farmer “digging in” in Bowdoinham, a community that has become a hub for next generation farmers. He and his…
Gardiner couple faces first hurdle – finding land to farm
More young people aspire to be farmers, especially in Maine. By Mary Pols mpols@pressherald.com Staff Writer First in an occasional series on Maine’s young farmers On moving day, Michael Dennett and Ryan Fahey had a fairly typical late 20-something, early…
Food & Water: Notes on the Camden Conference
Food & Water Sometimes I’m amazed by what happens here in Maine. An event this past weekend made that point clearly—in two distinct ways. The event was the 27th Annual Camden Conference. The topic this year was “the global politics…
Maine Farmland Trust aims to raise $50 million to help state become New England’s “food basket”
Reposted from the Bangor Daily News By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff Posted Jan. 07, 2014, at 3:06 p.m. AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Farmland Trust announced Tuesday that despite tough economic times, it has raised $18 million since 2009 for…
Frith Farm: A FarmLink Retrospective
Daniel Mays realized he wanted to be a farmer while a graduate student in environmental engineering. As soon as he finished his degree, Daniel began scouring real estate listings all over New England, looking for the right plot of land.…