AUGUSTA – Maine farmers are turning more often to the Internet to market their products, creating digital farmsteads to sell everything from Maine cranberries to gourmet potatoes through Web sites and online stores.

One Littleton family is offering the farm itself for sale on eBay, setting a price of $225,000 for the potato farm and 70 acres on the Houlton border.

“Innovation on the part of Maine’s small farmers covers not only how food is produced and the type of energy used, but how they communicate with each other and their customers,” Roger Doiron of the Maine Foods Network said Monday. Maine Foods Network is an online industry service that provides a sort of digital crossroads for the Maine food and farm community.

“Unlike the back-to-the-landers of the 1960s and 1970s who were interested in unplugging themselves from society, today’s new crop of farmers are part of a plugged-in generation, many of whom grew up with computers,” Doiron said.

Deanne Herman of the marketing division of the Maine Department of Agriculture agreed. “Particularly for farms trying to get visitors to their farm, having a Web site can make all the difference in the world,” she said Monday.

Janice Bouchard’s family sells Acadian buckwheat pancake mixes online from Fort Kent. Although the Internet has not boosted sales dramatically, Bouchard said it is the way of the future, “and we have to get with it.”

“The Internet is definitely an untapped business for Maine farmers,” said Bouchard. “We need to step up to the plate and get comfortable dealing with it because it’s here to stay.”

Farmers are giving the Internet mixed reviews, however, saying it can take a lot of time to set up shipping systems, while at the same time it has added to the their farm income.

Megan Gerritsen of Wood Prairie Farm in Bridgewater said that her farm already had been selling potatoes through a mail-order business for 12 years when she expanded to an online store.

“It was a natural leap to begin selling over the Internet,” she said recently. Gerritsen said her customers purchase her gourmet potatoes online from all 50 states, allowing their business to grow by an additional 30 percent.

“In the first years, when we placed ads in magazines, it was very effective and we got a good return on our dollar,” Gerritsen said. “But in the last three years that return has dropped significantly while the Internet business has picked up significantly.”

She said that if a farm is not set up for shipping, it can be a difficult transition. “But we had all that in place, and so the Internet went hand in hand with our mail-order business,” Gerritsen said.

Peter Ricker of Ricker Hill Orchards in Turner said he made the decision to sell online about six years ago, but it has not appreciably affected his bottom line. He sells apple samplers, apple cider jelly and apple crisp mix on the Internet.

“The online business is paying for the Web site, and that is about it,” he said. He said he feels he has a lot of out-of-state competition on apple sites. “Let’s face it. If you live in Michigan and you want apples, you’re going to buy from a Michigan orchard, not a Maine orchard.”

Ricker said his Web site has proved invaluable as a directional tool, informing customers how to get to his orchard and farm stand. “This is where it has come into its own,” he said.

Caitlin Hunter, president of the Maine Cheese Guild, said Monday, “As a statewide organization with no brick-and-mortar headquarters, having a virtual presence online is critical to our existence, and one which we hope to improve on in the upcoming year, both in terms of communication with our membership and the public, as well as with marketing Maine cheese products.”

Townline Farm in Hermon offers certified organic, USDA-inspected cuts of venison for sale and has been marketing on the Internet for a little over a year.

“Over 50 percent of our venison sales are through our Web site, with the fall season from September to December being the busiest,” owner Ed Moreshead said. “With a product that is somewhat unique like farm-raised venison, or a product that is easily shipped like maple syrup, the Internet can be a help, However, there are hurdles.”

Moreshead said these include becoming Internet-savvy and the increased competition online.

“You have to stand out in a bigger market which can be difficult,” he said.

For a complete listing of Maine food products available for the holidays, see the searchable databases maintained by the Maine Foods Network and the Maine State Department of Agriculture at getrealmaine.com.