An Act To Promote the Agricultural Economy
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2245
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Amends: 7 MRSA §318, 7 MRSA §319, 7 MRSA §320, 7 MRSA §434, 7 MRSA §435, 7 MRSA §436, 7 MRSA §436-A

Legislative Document 
No. 2245 
H.P.1606 
House of Representatives, March 4,2008 
An Act To Promote the Agricultural Economy 
(EMERGENCY) 
Reported by Representative PIEH of Bremen for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Order, H.P. 1555. 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed under Joint Rule 218. 
!7l~ 
/h.1l!ILC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, statutory changes are needed to maximize the use of programs to assist 
Maine farmers with business planning and financing implementation of business plans; 
and 
Whereas, increased profitability of farms and reduced administrative burdens on 
state agencies are in the best interest of the State; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency with in 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 7 MRS A §317, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 763, § 1, is amended to read: 
§317. Maine Farms for the Future Program 
The Maine Farms for the Future Program, referred to in this chapter as the "program," 
is created. The program is administered by the department, either directly or by contract 
with a suitable organization. The program provides a selected farm with assistance in 
developing a detailed business plan that involves changes in the farm's operation to 
increase the vitality of the farm and investment money to help implement the plan. 
Participants in the program are eligible to apply for reduced-interest loans from the 
Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund established under Title 10, section 1023-J and 
administered under section 435. The department shall organize a review panel, referred 
to in this chapter as the "panel," to evaluate and approve applications for participation in 
the program and for investment support. 
Sec. 2. 7 MRSA §318, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 763, § 1, is amended to 
read: 
1. Eligibility. An applicant must own at least 5 acres of land in an agricultural ttse 
ane enterprise as defined in section 434, subsection 1 that has been operating in the State 
for at least 2 years at the time of application. The applicant must submit an application to 
the department to be eligible for participation in the program pursuant to procedures 
developed by the department. 
Sec. 3. 7 MRS A §318, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 763, § 1, is amended to 
read: 
3. Services package; reimbursement. Once an applicant is selected to participate 
in the program, the department shall assist the selected farm in assembling a services 
package to develop the business plan within one year 18 months of the selection. These 
services may must include: 
A. 
Outside financial experts to provide services such as analyzing production 
practices and markets or developing financial data; and 
B. 
Instruction or classroom training in economics and business planning for the 
owner or operator of the farm. Classroom training for food processing and farm 
businesses must be approved by the department. 
A services package must be approved by the department before it is implemented. The 
department shall pay for outside services contracted as part of an approved services 
package. The department may not pay more than $10,000 for outside services contracted 
as part of the services package to a selected farm. Payment of more than $5,000 requires 
the approval of the commissioner. 
The department shall keep an accounting of the 
services provided to a selected farm as part of the services package. 
Sec. 4. 7 MRSA §319, as amended by PL 2003, c. 167, §§3 and 4, is further 
amended to read: 
§319. Investment support 
1. Eligibility. A selected farm that has completed a business plan pursuant to section 
is eligible to apply for funding to implement the plan. The applicant may apply for a 
reduced-interest loan from the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund under chapter 101, 
subchapter I-D or for a grant in exchange for a farmland protection agreement under 
subsection 4. 
A farmer requesting a grant in exchange for a farmland protection 
agreement must own at least 5 acres of land in agricultural use at the time of application. 
2. Award of grants. The panel shall develop a competitive process to determine the 
farms that receive .furul.s grants to implement a business plan in exchange for a farmland 
protection agreement under subsection 4. 
This determination must be based upon 
selection criteria developed by the department including: 
A. 
The viability of the business plan; 
B. 
The degree of threat to the continuation of agricultural use of the land due to 
factors such as the financial capacity and current farm management practices of the 
applicant; and 
C. 
The degree to which the business plan would accomplish broader objectives 
such as the protection of water resources, wildlife habitat, open space and scenic and 
cultural amenities. 
When possible, the panel shall award grants to applicants representing diverse 
agricultural enterprises and geographic areas of the State. 
3. 
Uses and limitations of funding. 
Any funds provided by the department 
pursuant to this section must be used to implement the business plan either in the plan's 
original form or in a subsequent amended version that has been approved by the 
department. +he For a farm applying for and receiving a loan from the Agricultural 
Marketing Loan Fund, the loan requirements and limitations under chapter 101, 
subchapter I-D and Title 10, section 1023-J apply. For a farm receiving a grant, the 
department may provide a selected farm \vith funds to implement the business plan in an 
amount not to exceed the lesser of $25,000 or 25% of the total investments identified by 
the business plan, whichever is less. 
4. Farmland protection agreement. A selected farm selected to receive a grant 
under subsection 2 must enter into a ~ 
7-year farmland protection agreement with 
the department before the department provides investment support pursuant to this 
section. The agreement must provide that the farm will protect the land in agricultural 
use from nonagricultural development for the period of the agreement. 
A selected farm 
may terminate the farmland protection agreement at any time if the farm repays the 
department for any funds provided to the farm by the department pursuant to this section. 
Sec. 5. 7 MRS A §320, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 763, § 1, is amended to 
read: 
1. Duties. The department shall ensure that the following duties are performed: 
A. 
Promoting the program to farms in the State; 
B. 
Organizing and overseeing the panel; 
C. 
Developing criteria to select participants for the program and recipients of 
investment support; 
D. 
Compiling a list of outside service providers; 
E. 
Administering the disbursement of investment support; and 
F. 
Executing and enforcing first and 2nd farmland protection agreements-;--tmd~ 
C. 
Evaluating and reporting annually by March 15th to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agricultural matters on the 
impact and effectiveness of the program. 
Sec. 6. 7 MRSA §320, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 763, § 1, is amended to 
read: 
3. Administration by other than department. The department sflal-l may contract 
the administration of this program to a suitable organization selected through a 
competitive process developed by the department. 
The organization selected must 
provide a match of a minimum of $200,000 nonstate funds. The contracting organization 
is responsible for performing all duties set forth in subsection I, except that it is solely the 
department's responsibility to perform the duty set forth in subsection I, paragraph F. 
I 
Whether the program is administered by the department or an organization under contract 
with the department, a minimum of 40% of the total annual state funding for the program 
must be reserved for grants awarded under section 3 19. 
Funds appropriated to the 
program may not lapse but must be carried forward. 
Sec. 7. 7 MRSA §320, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 763, § I, is repealed. 
Sec. 8. 7 MRSA §320, sub-§6 is enacted to read: 
6. Reportine. 
The commissioner shall submit an annual report on or before March 
st of each year to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
I 
over agricultural matters. The report must include a summary of grants made under 
section 319 during the previous calendar year. The report must address the effectiveness 
of the program. Effectiveness measures may include, but are not limited to, evaluation of 
the number of companies retained, expanded or created; the increase in the number of 
jobs created or retained; any increased business revenues and new capital raised; 
improved wages paid to employees; and any new capital investment and increase in 
profitability. 
Sec. 9. 7 MRSA §434, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 769, §4, is repealed. 
Sec. 10. 
MRSA §435, sub-§2, ~C, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 658, § I, IS 
amended to read: 
II 
C. 
An agricultural marketing loan must be at the interest rate established pursuant 
to subsection 3 or 3-A. 
Sec. 11. 
MRSA §435, sub-§2, ~G, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 593, §I, IS 
repealed. 
Sec. 12. 7 MRSA §435, sub-§3, as amended by PL 200 I, c. 152, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
3. Interest rate. +fie Except as provided in subsection 3-A, the interest rate for 
loans is 5% per year. 
Sec. 13. 7 MRSA §435, sub-§3-A is enacted to read: 
3-A. Loans for participants in the Maine Farms for the Future Program. The 
interest rate for loans for capital improvements identified in a business plan developed 
under section 318 is 2% per year. 
Sec. 14. 7 MRSA §435, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 152, §3, is amended to 
read: 
5. Report. The commissioner shall submit an annual report on or before March 1st 
of each year to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
agricultural matters. The report must include a summary of loans made under this section 
during the previous calendar year and loans outstanding categorized by the types of 
agricultural enterprises receiving the loans. The report must address the effectiveness of 
the program. Effectiveness measures may include, but are not limited to, evaluation of 
the number of companies retained, expanded or created; the increase in the number of 
jobs created or retained; any increased business revenues and new capital raised; 
improved wages paid to employees; and any new capital investment and increase in 
profitability. 
Sec. 15. 7 MRSA §436, as amended by PL 2003, c. 120, § I, is further amended to 
read: 
§436. Grants for technical assistance and research 
The commissioner may use all or a portion of the accrued interest in the cash balance 
of the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund and all or a portion of loan repayments for 
grants for technical assistance and the agricultural development grant program in chapter 
10. The commissioner may expend grant dollars designated to an applicant in one fiscal 
year during the following any of the 3 fiscal yeaF years following designation. 
Sec. 16. 7 MRSA §436-A, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 769, §6, is repealed. 
Sec. 17. Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry to continue review of the recommendations of the agricultural 
creative economy study. The Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation 
and Forestry shall use meetings authorized during the legislative interim preceding the 
convening of the 124th Legislature to discuss the recommendations included in the report 
of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources entitled "The Agricultural 
Creative Economy: Needs, Opportunities, and Market Analysis" and not addressed in this 
Act. The report was presented to the committee in January 2008 in response to Resolve 
2007, chapter 13. 
The committee shall evaluate the merits of the recommendations and the resources 
needed for implementing each. The committee shall develop any legislation necessary to 
implement the report's recommendations relating to development, assistance and labor 
recruitment and training for agricultural businesses and the promotion and marketing of 
agricultural products. 
Sec. 18. 
Legislation authorized. 
The joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over agricultural matters may submit legislation to the 
development and assistance, labor needs and the promotion of agricultural products. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill is the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation 
and Forestry pursuant to Joint Order 2007, H.P. 1555. 
I. It allows participants in the Maine Farms for the Future Program to receive loans 
from the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund at a reduced interest rate of 2%. 
2. It changes the eligibility criteria for applicants to the Maine Farms for the Future 
Program for business development planning. Under current law the applicant must own 
at least 5 acres of land in agricultural use. The bill instead requires that applicants must 
own an agricultural business that has operated in the State for a minimum of 2 years. As 
proposed, ownership of 5 acres is required only for those entering the implementation 
phase and applying for a grant in exchange for a farmland protection agreement. 
3. It extends the time period for assembling a services package for participants in the 
Maine Farms for the Future Program business planning program from 12 to 18 months 
and requires instruction or classroom training in economics and business planning. It 
removes the requirement that the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural 
Resources approve payments of more than $5,000 for business planning services. 
4. It extends the duration of a farmland protection agreement from 5 years to 7 years. 
5. It replaces the mandate that the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural 
Resources contract out the administration of the Maine Farms for the Future program 
with permissive language and removes the requirement that a contracting organization 
provide a $200,000 match. It also removes the cap on expenditures for administrative 
costs for a contracting organization. It requires that a minimum of 40% of annual state 
funding for the Maine Farms for the Future Program be reserved for grants to implement 
a business plan. 
6. It expands on the information to be included in the annual reports for the Maine 
Farms for the Future Program and the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund. 
7. 
It removes the definition of "direct marketing" in the provisions for the 
Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund. This term is no longer used in the subchapter in 
which the definition appears. 
8. It removes the cap of $100,000 on Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund loans for 
land for the start-up of a new agricultural business. 
9. 
It extends the time period during which grants for technical assistance and 
research must be expended to the 3 fiscal years following designation. 
10. It removes provisions for business planning under the Agricultural Marketing 
Loan Fund, eliminating the provisions of similar services under both the Maine Farms for 
the Future Program and the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund. 
11. 
It directs the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry to review recommendations presented in the January 2008 report on the 
agricultural creative economy during regularly authorized meetings and to develop 
legislation to implement the report's recommendations relating to assistance, development 
and promotion for agricultural businesses. 
12. It authorizes the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over agricultural matters to submit legislation during the First Regular Session of the 
124th Legislature.