Grant funds study of organic farming

Too many Maine farms are not economically viable – they simply do not make enough money to support farm families. But shifting from conventional crops to organic production could be one way to save such farms, according to a group studying such a change in farming in central Maine.

Small, individually operated farms, even when they are run by smart farmers working every available hour, simply cannot compete with mass production and inexpensive imports.

With more and more central Maine farms going on the auction block each spring, a new agriculture concern has been awarded a state grant to study organic farming viability in Somerset and Franklin counties.

The Maine Community Foundation and the Maine State Planning Office awarded the new Maine Alternative Agriculture Association and the Somerset County Soil and Water Conservation District a combined grant of $18,000 to study the economic future of organic farming.

Already, 39 area growers have expressed interest in putting at least some of the operations into organic production.

The association’s Paula Day said Friday that the bleak headlines about farming difficulties have been clear for decades.

“Yes, you’ve been hearing it and yes, a few Maine farms are doing well,” said Day. “Many, many more are barely scraping by with the help of off-farm income.

“But the number of active, healthy farms on the landscape is diminishing every year, and the cumulative loss is not a trickle, it is a flood. How many people do you know who are actually considering going into farming as a career?”

The focus of the association’s study will be the impact a shift to organic farming could have in central Maine, and linking those who grow organic crops with area food service providers, such as schools, universities, hospitals and jails.

Day said Maine farmers are “ideally poised” to enter the organic market. The very factors that are working against conventional farmers – small, family-owned operations on relatively small acreages – make them well suited for organic production, which requires a more hnds-on approach.

“We have four dairy farmers in our area right now that would make the switch to organic if they could be assured of a market,” Day said.

In addition, she said, marketing is the key to increased organic vegetable production. “It is kind of hard to persuade a dairy farmer to plant an acre of carrots if you can’t promise them a market,” Day said.

The major impediment in conventional farmers’ switch to organic, she said, “is they are afraid they won’t be able to sell it.” A primary focus of the new association is educating buyers.

The demand for organic agricultural products has been growing the past decade, Day said, increasing by 20 percent in the 1990s, by 30 percent in 1998, and 40 percent in 1999. Supply is far short of demand and prices for organic products reflect that scarcity.

For the next year or so, she said, the association will act as the marketer for those in central Maine who are interested. “Eventually, we would like to create a farmer-owned corporation or cooperative,” said Day.

“Maine people eating unadulterated Maine-grown food – it’s a win-win solution,” Day said.