We’re far from alone in recognizing the urgent need for this work. Listen to the calls for more sophisticated and empathetic forms of agricultural support below.
“Maine should provide information, tools, and technical assistance to enhance farm resilience and profitability in the face of climate change.”
“A strong local food system will support Maine farmers, fishing and aquaculture harvesters, and other food producers while also supporting more resilient Maine communities. Maine’s most recent experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic showed the challenges of global supply chains for a variety of basic needs, including food. Maine should provide financial support to strengthen Maine’s food systems so that more food can be produced and processed in-state and distributed efficiently and affordably. This also includes promoting research, development, and planning efforts that support the growth and stability of Maine food systems.”
— Maine Climate Council’s “A Four Year Plan for Climate Change,” December, 2020
“In the near term, Maine should…increase the availability of online learning and other flexible program that are relevant to Maine employers and workers.”
— Maine Economic Development Strategy 2020-2029, A Focus on Talent and Innovation
“Maine has an opportunity to advance industry-led, public-private initiatives that grow key innovation sectors such as seafood and agricultural product processing...”
“Message Maine as a leader in food, forestry, technical services, making/manufacturing, and energy and lead in the nexus of these sectors in the bioeconomy, which uses materials from farm, forest, and sea to replace fossil-fuel based products with renewable alternatives, and the circular economy, which seeks to be regenerative rather than linear, keeping materials in use as long as possible to decrease waste.”
— Recommendations to Sustain and Grow Maine’s Economy, Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee, November 24, 2020
“Farmers who provided input expressed the greatest desire for support to meet their day-to-day business needs. Farmers indicated that their greatest need is for a variety of information, resources, and education to support day-to-day farm operations. Farmers also noted the importance of service providers keeping accessibility of information, resources, and training in mind and bringing resources directly to farmers on the farm.”
“Participants in this process consistently and emphatically cited the importance of profitability to current and future farm viability. They noted that farmers’ ability to invest time and resources in research and development, farm transition planning, and protection of natural resources is restricted in the absence of profitability.”
— Results from a Statewide Engagement Process: Maine Farmers’ Needs & Priorities, Ellen Skakalsi, June, 2019
“Maine food industry leaders face many business challenges, but the majority have little formal training in business to help them overcome these challenges. The greatest challenges facing their enterprises were business challenges: managing operations and growth - particularly in a competitive and/or low-margin environment, expanding markets for their products and managing company finances and accessing capital for growth.”
— The Maine Food Cluster Project, 2015