These days, I’m proud to work with the Aroostook Farm Bureau and serve on the state Farm Bureau board. I first learned of Farm Bureau as a young farmer back in the 1970s, but had the impression that it only represented “big” agriculture.
It was only years later that I learned I’d been wrong. It didn’t matter how big my operation was, or what I grew, I was a farmer and Farm Bureau wanted to know my thoughts. If I wanted to have a voice with the group, I just had to show up.
Our process here at the Maine Farm Bureau is actually about as grassroots as you can imagine. Each county has a say in state policy, and that means we probably have more division and debate within our ranks than other ag groups, but it also means we help develop a consensus among all farmers and those who support farming and then bring that position to Augusta and Washington D.C. — even if it is not aligned with the American Farm Bureau.
The fact is that the Maine Farm Bureau works for all farmers, even ones who oppose the collective positions, and our county chapters extend our voice way beyond whatever is grabbing today’s headlines — although you can bet we have influence in the high-profile issues also.
Beyond fighting for policies that support farming and land use in Maine, we have a history of lending a helping hand to our fellow farmers. Our efforts to help some Maine dairy farmers a few years ago by creating MOO Milk is just one example of how the Maine Farm Bureau is really about farmers helping farmers and preserving a way of life.
Now more than ever, we need to stick together to help each other and have a collective voice. Recent studies from the USDA indicate that Maine is bucking the national trend in farming. We have more farmers, more young farmers, more women farmers, and we’re increasing acres involved with farming. But that means Maine farming is changing and that building a real community consensus will be challenging if we don’t have as many farmers.
I recommend that you consider joining for the same reasons I did all those years ago — get in here and make your voice heard.
Rommy Haines is a state director of the Maine Farm Bureau and a resident of Fort Fairfield.
