Cultivating Maine’s Agricultural Future: How Towns Can Protect Farmland & Support Farmers

The landscape of farming in Maine is abundant and multifaceted. It is at once thriving and threatened. It is as complex as Maine’s more than 7,000 working farms and as diverse as the numerous ways individuals and communities engage in food production and land stewardship across the state. Municipalities have an important role to play in protecting important farmland from being lost to development, helping farm businesses thrive, and ensuring that local ordinances and planning initiatives are inclusive of the diverse needs of farmers in their communities. There is much that can be done locally to advance farm-friendly policy and planning solutions, by municipal boards and committees, but also by individuals who care about agriculture and recognize opportunities for change or action in their communities. A range of tools and strategies are available to municipalities, and it is up to each community to determine which are the right fit for their town. Following the release of the Second Edition of Cultivating Maine’s Agricultural Future: A Policy and Planning Guide for Towns, join Thacher Carter, Municipal Policy Associate with Maine Farmland Trust (MFT), for a presentation and discussion about what action steps town governments in Maine can take to protect farmland and support farmers.