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Why plan for growth and change, when it seems so much easier to simply react? When there is a distinct and shared vision for your community - when residents, businesses and local government anticipate a sustainable town with cohesive and thriving neighborhoods - you have the power to conserve your beautiful natural spaces, enhance your existing downtown or Main Street, enable rural areas to be productive and prosperous, and save money through efficient use of existing infrastructure. This is the dollars and sense of smart growth. Success is clearly visible in Maine, from the creation of a community-built senior housing complex and health center in Fort Fairfield to conservation easements creating Forever Farms to Rockland's revitalized downtown. Communities have options. We have the power to manage our own responses to growth and change. After all, “Planning is a process of choosing among those many options. If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us.” - Richard I. Winwood And in the end, this means that our children and their children will choose to make Maine home and our economy will provide the opportunities to do so. The Summit offers you a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the transformative change in Maine that we’ve seen these gatherings produce. We encourage you to consider the value of being actively involved in growing Maine’s economy and protecting the reasons we choose to live here.
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Farming in Maine: A Renaissance in Progress
8,173 Farms in 2012
Up from 7,196 in 2002 (+13.5%)
48% of farms list farming as primary occupation
Up from 43% in 2007
Exceeds national average of 47%
29% of farmers are women
Up from 25% in 2007
30% of farmers are age 55-64 29% of farmers are over 64
Farmers age 25-34 increased 40% since 2007
Two Tracks Commodity Farming
Local Agriculture
Farming in Maine is Growing
Poised for Further Growth
Fundamentals Are Good
# 1 Plenty of Land
#2 Abundant Water
#3 Good Growing Conditions
#4 Strong Markets
Still, Maine is no Iowa
Can farming here be more than a side-show?
New England Food Vision
• Studied New England’s ability to feed itself
• Considered population trends, eating habits, and land availability and suitability
• Results: NE could grow 50 – 67% of ALL its food
• But Maine would need to farm 3 million acres (Maine currently farms 700,000 acres)
In 1880s, Maine farmed 6.5 million acres
Where did 5.8 million acres go?
Opportunity to reclaim 3-4 million acres
But just because this could happen, doesn’t mean it will
• Farming in Maine is hindered by current realities (economic and demographic)
• There is not much market for additional local production at prices that work for farmers – Food prices are distorted
– Land prices are based on development value, not farm-use value
• 1/3 of Maine farmland will transition this decade
Critical Period of Transition
• If we lose much more land to short-sighted development
• If we lose knowhow, because we aren’t helping existing farmers innovate or beginning farmers get started
• Then, farming will never realize its promise
Critical Needs
• Protect more farmland
• Provide services to help farmers thrive
• Raise public awareness
