More than 50 people convened at the Wiscasset Primary School May 15 for a forum on Agriculture and Education sponsored by the Morris Farm Trust.
The event brought together various stakeholders including farmers large and small, educators and bureaucrats, for a wide-ranging discussion revolving around the concept of increasing the public’s awareness of the state’s agriculture promise.
During a series of speeches in the morning session, a number of speakers reiterated the same theme: While more infrastructure, development and support are needed, as it is currently, agriculturally speaking, Maine is a well-kept secret.
Several speakers reiterated the theme that agriculture in the state of Maine is in flux. Perhaps 15 years ago, as speaker John Piotti said, there were few small farms and no markets. Now there are more and more markets, but not enough farms.
During his address, John Rebar, executive director of the Maine Cooperative Extension, highlighted several challenges facing Maine’s agricultural industry including climate change, declining subsidy support, and the costs for getting into the business.
Noting that 90 percent of kids in local 4-H clubs are not following an agricultural program, Rebar suggested it is the true long-term challenge facing the state.
“We have to understand that these are complex issues and we have to take a step back and see the whole picture,” he said. “You can’t look through your rifle barrel and say I see the whole picture.”
Piotti, the executive director of the Maine Farmland Trust, pointed out the trend over the past 75 years or so has been to separate the farmer from the consumer, a connection that has only recently become re-established.
Saying he is bullish on the future of Maine farms, Piotti noted most Maine agricultural producers are within a day’s drive of “80 million consumers.”
To really move forward, Piotti said, Maine needs infrastructure and system support implemented for every concern ranging from small local producers to large commercial operations.
Another concern is simply keeping land available for agricultural development.
Stewart Smith, professor of Sustainable Agriculture with the University of Maine, estimated that 400,000 acres of land will be in transition in the next 10 years simply due to the current farming generation’s age.
“There is no one answer,” said former legislator and current Dresden goat farmer Marge Killkelly. “There are lots of answers.”
During the afternoon sessions, participants separated into small groups and brainstormed ways to get the message out.
Highlights of the small groups’ workshops included components such as introducing fresh food in schools, promoting the economic and human health upside of consuming local produce, overcoming the perceptions that time requirements to cook from scratch are prohibitive and that eating is an interruption and chore to be done.
Another idea included attaching agricultural components to Maine Learning Results, and legislation District 53 Rep. Les Fossel (R-Alna) indicated he would consider introducing that idea in an upcoming session.
According to Morris Farm spokesperson Kim Andersson, the event was a spectacular success. If nothing else, it lays the groundwork for future forums, Andersson said. Most promising, some of the small group sessions in the afternoon came up with specific action plans outlining concrete steps to get the word out, Andersson said.
“Obviously there was youth education, but what I thought was kind of interesting, and this came from some of the conventional farmers who were there, was consumer education,” Andersson said. “There was this feeling that consumers are being misled about agriculture in Maine.”
As an example, Andersson cited the idea of the Knox Lincoln County Farm Bureau encouraging supermarket chains such as Hannafords and Shaws to develop a rating system for products produced in Maine.
Hypothetically, Andersson said, a product grown entirely in Maine could have five stars; something mostly grown in or made with Maine products would be worth four stars and so on.
Noting this is the first time the various stakeholders have ever been gathered together for this purpose, Andersonn enthused it was a productive session. It is possible that planners will organize another forum in 2011, although such a gathering would likely take place earlier in the year before planting season, Andersson said.
“This is the first time there has been a venue – a forum – for all these people, who have all been working for and supporting the same thing,” Andersson said.
