How We Help
Farmland
Farmers
Future
Maine Farmland Trust protects farmland, supports farmers, and advances the future of farming. Our goal is to protect Maine farmland and revitalize Maine’s rural landscape by keeping agricultural lands working and helping farmers and communities thrive.

Katia Holmes
Misty Brook Farm, Albion

Big news! Maine Farmland Trust produces an annual volume of stories, photography, and art to explore different facets of Maine’s food and farming community as a way to thank our supporters, and this year, we’re making our full digital archive freely available for anyone to read online! In the latest issue, you’ll find stories about farmers and land tenders rooted in community, barn cats and farm dogs with important jobs to do, creative pathways to farmland access, the “ingredients” it really takes to get from farm to table, and how we can grow the future for Maine’s dairies – plus, reflections from MFT supporters on why our work to protect and support local farms matters.

MFT is working closely with the state and many other partners to increase testing, research, and support for Maine farmers who may be impacted by PFAS in Maine. We’ll continue to share information and resources as they become available.

Doug and Heather Donahue of Balfour Farm in Pittsfield are one of our 2023 Implementation Grant awardees. Through MFT's Farming for the Long Haul program, Doug and Heather built a business plan to increase efficiency in cutting and packaging aged cheeses so they can expand the success of their business. Their Implementation Grant supports the purchase of a cheese portioning machine that will help them meet the needs of their growing wholesale customers.
"The planning mentorship and tools we received from MFT through the program honed our management skills and made a significant difference in the operations of the farm. Working on pricing showed us that packaging cheese was one of the places we could streamline our operation, and we investigated ways to mechanize some of the process. This is a step forward for our business that wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of MFT.”