Farm bills ruled unnecessary

AUGUSTA – Two bills proposed before the Legislature’s Agriculture, Forestry and Conservation Committee were voted “ought not to pass” Thursday morning, actions that pleased the bills’ sponsors and the state Department of Agriculture.

In both cases, solutions were found that avoided legislative action and would provide capital improvement funding for the state’s 25 agricultural fairs and increase marketing opportunities for the state’s dairy and vegetable producers.

LD 1534 was carried over from the last legislative session and would have eliminated large grocery chains from participating in state tax-incentive programs if they charged Maine farmers slotting fees, or shelf-space fees.

The issue was brought forth by Sen. John Nutting, a dairy farmer from Leeds, after a neighboring farmer told the senator that Shaw’s Supermarkets had charged shelf fees and dropped Maine producers from its supply contracts.

Bringing the bill forward last session and having it carried over gave the Department of Agriculture time to work with Shaw’s, Hannaford Bros. Co., Associated Grocers and Maine farmers to promote Maine-grown products in Maine stores.

Statistics provided to the Agriculture Committee by Bernard J. Rogan of Shaw’s Supermarkets indicated a growing commitment by the chain to use Maine products.

“Shaw’s estimates that over $100 million was paid to Maine vendors for their products and services during the year 2001,” Rogan wrote in a memo distributed to the committee. Of the nearly 650 vendors used by Shaw’s in 2001, Rogan claimed the overwhelming majority were growers, dairy producers and food processors.

Chris Burke of the Maine Grocers Association told the committee that the quality of Maine produce was never in question, but whether small Maine farmers could provide a consistent quantity was an issue.

The issue of consistently providing enough produce to serve the large chain stores’ needs is being given a priority within the Department of Agriculture. Commissioner Robert Spear said the idea of cooperative marketing ventures is being worked on by farmers and his department.

The Department of Agriculture is sponsoring workshops and training sessions for farmers to help them develop an increased, consistent volume and work toward cooperative marketing.

This approach could help the local chains, Hannaford, Shaw’s and Associated Grocers, compete against the country’s largest food retailer, Wal-Mart.

“They could have a huge advantage over Wal-Mart by featuring Maine products,” said Nutting. “If there was a consistent market, I believe our farmers could triple the acreage that is in production now.”

Nutting said he was so confident with the progress made by the Department of Agriculture in working with the supermarkets and farmers that he made the motion himself to kill the proposal.

Nutting did ask the Department of Agriculture to continue working with all the parties involved to create a larger market for Maine products. This was echoed by a suggestion from Agriculture Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Kneeland of Easton that the Department of Agriculture report back to the committee in one year with a progress report.

The second bill killed by the committee involved creating a fund to help the state’s agriculture fairs with capital improvements.

The Department of Agriculture’s Janet Richards reported to the committee that the department had discovered a source of funding the program in its own coffers. “We have $275,000 ready in available cash right now,” said Richards.

She explained that the money was in the Rural Rehabilitation Trust Fund, created in 1974 and geared toward rural development tied to low-income regions. She said she was working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to amend the fund’s language to include fairs and with the Finance Authority of Maine to manage the loans.

Spear said that using the fund in this manner also would give the state Department of Agriculture “a better rate of return on our funds. The return is used for scholarships.”

Fred Lunt, the Department of Agriculture’s fair coordinator, said that last year the state’s 25 fairs began or accomplished more than $900,000 in capital improvements. Because the loan program would be linked to low-income areas, Lunt explained that the smaller fairs, which need the most help, would receive the brunt of the assistance. At next week’s annual fair meeting, Lunt will present packets of information and update the individual fair representatives on the loan program.