Title

"Cover Story" piece on the conversion of New England's agricultural land to othe

Authors

Meg Haskell

Source

Maine Times

Date

11-23-2000

Pages

4-7, 1

Abstract

"Cover Story" piece on the conversion of New England's agricultural land to other uses. Sprawl, the enemy of both community and agriculture, is consuming huge tracts of once-productive farmland, largely because farms are eminently buildable. Maine lost 47,000 acres of farmland between 1992 and 1997; 53 percent of its agricultural land has been lost since 1964. According to the state agriculture department, only 12,000 Maine residents are counted among "farm families": those who earn a reportable portion of their income by farming. And according to state statistics, more than half of the owners of farmland in Maine are over 60. With a brief history of the Land for Maine's Future program, its criteria for buying farm rights, and a related article about the Maine Farmland Trust, which was created last year and is led by part-time farmer and conservationist Steve Page of Searsmont.

Subjects

Farming, Land trusts, Maine Farmland Trust

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