AUGUSTA — There is a conflict within the farming industry, and it’s one that doesn’t have an easy resolution.

Many young farmers are looking for land but finding the costs associated with acquiring acres for farming to be prohibitive, while older farmers wanting to retire are encountering challenges with transitioning their farmland and ensuring it continues to be used as a productive piece of property.

Brian Donahue

People listen to Brian Donahue speak Monday at the Maine Farmland Access Conference in Augusta. Staff photo by Andy Molloy

Amanda Beal, president and CEO of the Maine Farmland Trust, said the biggest issue for the state’s farming industry is farmland access. At its second Farmland Access Conference at the Augusta Civic Center on Monday, officials said they expect as much as 400,000 acres of Maine farmland will change hands over the next decade, but officials and farmers alike question whether the land will continue to be farmed.

“There are plenty of people who want to do the farming,” said Brandeis University associate professor Brian Donahue, who gave the keynote. “The big issues are connecting them to the land and giving them the ability to market stuff so that they can survive.”

Beal said there’s an increasing awareness that industry officials need to be engaging in conversations with older landowners earlier in their careers about transitioning. The longer they wait, she said, the less flexibility there is with each decision.

Donahue, who has been farming for about 40 years, said for older farmers, their land is their retirement account.

“They tend to be land-rich and cash-poor,” Donahue said.

Jason Pafundi can be contacted at 621-5663 or at:

jpafundi@centralmaine.com

Twitter: jasonpafundiKJ

Related Stories