Farmers Know Best: Centering Farmer Perspectives and Voices to Grow Power for Maine Farms

When farmers participate in the policy process, it leads to better outcomes. That’s because farmers know best how policy ideas work on the ground, and by sharing their firsthand experiences and ideas on solutions, they are strong champions for a social, economic, and political environment that supports thriving, interconnected Maine farms.

Maine Farmland Trust regularly gathers input from farmers across the state on the policy changes they want to see and sends action alerts to our full network of farms when opportunities to engage in the policy process arise.

In 2024, MFT added a new farmer engagement tactic to the mix – a standing committee of farmers to help us strengthen the way that we engage farmers in policy and advocacy and center farmers’ perspectives as we set priorities and advocate on behalf of Maine farms.

Read on to learn about the farmers participating on the Farmer Advocacy Committee, what we accomplished together in 2024, and where we’re headed with the next group of FAC members in 2025!

The 2024 Farmer Advocacy Committee

In 2024, we held an open call for applications and selected a group of six farmers to take part in the inaugural Farmer Advocacy Committee (FAC) coming from diverse farming backgrounds and bringing varying levels of advocacy experience. The FAC members had a range of agricultural and conservation policy priorities but all shared an interest in engaging with us more deeply over the course of the year and building a future in which Maine’s farmland is protected and our farms can thrive. Participating farmers were provided a stipend for their time and expertise.

The 2024 FAC members included Penny Jordan (Jordan’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth), Andy Smith (The Milkhouse in Monmouth), Jim Buckle (The Buckle Farm in Unity), Katie Clark (Reed Farm in Windsor), Brendon Wormell (Wormell Farms in Cumberland), and Erica Emery (Rustic Roots Farm in Farmington).

The group worked together to provide input that directly informed MFT’s policy priorities, positions, and messaging. They all participated in advocacy activities through direct communication with policymakers and worked to galvanize support of other farmers. MFT convened regular group meetings and provided opportunities to engage between meetings as the policy landscape continued to evolve at the local, state, and federal level.  

The FAC and MFT learned together throughout the journey over the past year – making adjustments as needed, for example when the participating farmers asked for more frequent meetings!

So what did we accomplish together?

The group’s impact extended beyond the warm-fuzzies. Participating farmers supported one another and advanced policy efforts in a variety of ways. FAC members opted in to participate in activities related to policy topics that mattered most to them – and when it worked for them within their busy lives as farmers. The work was structured intentionally to be fluid and multifaceted. Some examples of actions FAC members took included:

• Providing testimony on priority bills before the Maine State legislature.
• Helping to prioritize state-level appropriations and contacting appropriators, especially to build support for Tier Program funding for dairy farmers.
• Directly emailing or calling policymakers.
• Sharing feedback with MFT staff travelling to DC to help inform talking points and policy asks during visits with elected officials and Coalition members.  
• Participating in deep-dive interviews with MFT staff on how climate change is impacting their farm business and what policy responses they want to see, particularly in the next Farm Bill.
• Reaching out to municipal government officials to spread the word about a new MFT policy resource that outlines actions that towns can take to support farms.
• Hosting on-farm events with elected officials.
• Helping to train other farmers in advocacy and participating in training themselves.
• Speaking with the media on the need for balanced solar siting.

In short, FAC members got things done! MFT has enjoyed engaging with this savvy, committed group of farmers, and our work is better for it.  

The next phase of farmer-led advocacy

With all of the great engagement and progress made by the farmers in the 2024 FAC, MFT plans to continue this approach. We are grateful to share that a new group of FAC members have been selected for 2025, alongside several members of the former group who opted to stay on and continue to engage with us and the new members for at least another year!  

The new group of participating farmers includes Bill Spiller (Spiller Farm in Wells), Lindsey Neville (New Dawns Farm in Mt. Chase), Molly DellaRoman (5-Star Nursery and Orchard in Brooklin), Brad Santy (Santy Dairy in Skowhegan), Angela Baglione (Seek-No-Further Farmstead in Monroe) and Lane Moir (Moir Farms in Woodland). We are excited to engage with this eager, smart group who also bring a great blend of geographies, interests, production types, and experience levels.

Over the next year, we anticipate there will be some exciting opportunities to engage as:

• Congress resumes drafting the next Farm Bill, shaping how billions of dollars of federal funds are invested in our communities.
• State legislators advance efforts to actualize the Maine Climate Council’s next iteration of our state’s climate action plan, including farmland protection and local food consumption goals.
• Municipal officials work to determine how to support farms in their communities through planning processes and ordinances.

Get Involved

You can use your voice to advocate for Maine farms. Sign up to receive policy updates and action alerts. We’ll keep you in the loop on opportunities to contact your legislators and other actions you can take.

Are you a farmer interested in joining MFT to create policy change? Share your priorities and get involved. Together we can advance farmer-driven policy work and shape a political environment in which Maine’s farmland is protected and our farms can thrive!