Adam Bishop, Farmland Protection Manager and Southern Maine Program Manager
Adam works in Maine Farmland Trust's Belfast office primarily, and lives in Camden with his two kids. He loves any sort of outdoor adventure but spends most of his free time lately swimming, biking and running as he gets ready to compete in his first Ironman triathlon this summer. He also mans the grill exceptionally well at Forever Farm parties around the state!
Q: What is your role at Maine Farmland Trust?
I am a Farmland Protection Project Manager and the Land Protection Program Manager.
I work with land owners who want to protect their property, or folks who are looking to use our land protection tools as part of a strategy to acquire farmland.
Q: Why do you work for MFT?
I grew up in total suburbia, which, in terms of local food, farmland, and open space, started out with very little and got worse as time went on. After working for about 12 years as a chef and owner of a cafe and catering company, MFTs farmland conservation work is a nice combination of my interest in conservation and my commitment to local foods. There is still a chance in Maine to make sure every community has protected farmland that can be used to produce local food. That's no longer an option everywhere. I've always been a big proponent of conservation, basically because we have all witnessed the thoughtless way lots of property is developed when some entity is not available to step in and protect it from those who would look to profit at the expense of land's value as a natural resource. If everyone out there cared for their property the way most of the farmers we work with do, there would be no need for us to do land protection work. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you look forward to working on?
It is really rewarding when my work helps to make a farm affordable for people who otherwise would not have the ability to purchase such a property. I'm really looking forward to helping MFT complete more projects in southern Maine, where farmland is more threatened by development than anywhere else in our state. And I really like land protection projects where our involvement helps to protect farmland, while also achieving additional conservation goals such as habitat protection or recreation.
Learn more about what Adam and the rest of our Lands Staff do here, and please consider giving to MFT to help support this vital work to protect farmland and the future of food production in our state.
