BUCKSPORT – Maine Farmland Trust has named John Piotti of Unity its new executive director.

Piotti, a state representative and co-chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, has served on the board Maine Farmland Trust for six years, four years as vice president. He spent the last 11 years as the director of the Maine Farms Project for Coastal Enterprises in Wiscasset.

“I feel privileged to serve as executive director at Maine Farmland Trust,” Piotti said on Monday in a prepared statement. “We must greatly accelerate our efforts to both protect Maine farmland and to keep Maine farms viable and successful – and I believe both farmland protection and farm viability are closely intertwined.”

Maine Farmland Trust is a statewide organization that preserves and protects agricultural land and the people who own and operate it.

The organization’s office is located in Bucksport, but will move to Belfast this summer.

Piotti’s goals as executive director include expanding FarmLink, a program that matches retiring farmers with new farmers wishing to buy or lease Maine farms, increasing technical assistance to farmers and partnering with other Maine organizations.

Outgoing Executive Director LouAnna Perkins will continue working for Maine Farmland Trust as a special projects manager and legal counsel.