Saving Farmland
Farmland acreage in Maine is rapidly shrinking, as many economic factors lead to farmers’ selling their land for residential or commercial development. Only 4% of Maine’s land base is rated as prime agricultural soil, and too much of this land has already been developed. Farmland is often the first place developers look for real estate.
Farmers will often point out, “the best way to protect farmland is to keep farming profitable.” But like any business, farming can be a risky enterprise. Moreover, “development” market value of land is often higher than its “agricultural” market value, even when a farm business is doing well.
That’s why our mission to permanently protect farmland is so important. We must stem the conversion of Maine’s productive agricultural land, to keep it available for farming now and in the future. And since “it’s not farmland without farmers,” Maine Farmland Trust operates FarmLink, a program to ensure that active farmland will stay in production into the next generation.