To keep Maine’s farms thriving, farmers will need to adapt to the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, including excess rainfall and drought, warming temperatures, and sea level rise. With the Climate Adaptation Planning program, we can help you make a plan to address the risks that climate change may pose to your farm over the short-, medium-, and long-term.
Work with MFT staff to develop comprehensive climate adaptation plans for your farm over the course of 3 to 6 months. This program is designed to ease the uncertainty and challenges farmers face around the future impacts and risks of climate change by creating actionable, timely steps to increase your individual farm’s resilience. Climate Adaptation Plans can be a helpful way to think about longer-term planning with the support and accountability of a service provider who can help you access technical and financial resources.
The planning process uses your knowledge of your farm and available climate change projections to assess climate risks, identify and prioritize potential strategies, and set short, medium, and long-term goals for your farm. MFT staff will connect you with the expertise and resources to explore strategies to build your whole farm’s resilience through farming practices, infrastructure upgrades, and/or landscape alterations. Once you complete your plan, you are eligible to apply for a grant of up to $5,000 to implement new strategies. In addition to the grant, we can work with you to navigate a variety of other financial resources available to fund the activities in your plan.
Questions about making a Climate Adaptation Plan? Please see the CAP Process Outline for a comprehensive overview of the planning process, including timelines, focus areas, grant information, and other details on what to expect.
Any farm may apply to complete a climate adaptation plan. Depending on the volume of applications, we may not be able to work with every farm at a given time.
Applications for the Climate Resilience Planning program are currently closed. Maine Farmland Trust staff will review applications in November, and contact applying farms in early December. You might also be interested in checking out our Climate Resilience Assistance Grants.
Please contact Sav Eades (seades@mainefarmlandtrust.org) with any questions or for more details.
