An Act To Designate the Maine Farms Agricultural Resource Management and Sustainability Recognition Program
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1445
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: BLACK
Amends: 7 MRSA §162

Legislative Document
No. 1445
H.P. 997
House of Representatives, April 13, 2017
An Act To Designate the Maine Farms Agricultural Resource 
Management and Sustainability Recognition Program
Submitted by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint 
Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BLACK of Wilton.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §162, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 356, Pt. A, §1 and amended by 
PL 2011, c. 682, §38, is further amended to read: 
§162.  Maine Farms Agricultural Resource Management and Sustainability 
recognition program 
The commissioner shall establish a process for designating "Farming for Maine" 
farms Maine Farm Agricultural Resource Management and Sustainability recipients 
according to this section.  This designation provides farmers an opportunity to declare 
recognize their commitment to commercial agriculture sustainable agricultural practices 
and long-term resource management and to increase public awareness of farming in the 
State agricultural producer commitment to best management practices. 
1.  Application.  An applicant for designation as a "Farming for Maine" farm Maine 
Farm Agricultural Resource Management and Sustainability recipient shall submit a 
completed application that has been verified for verification in accordance with 
subsection 3 to the clerk for the municipality in which the farm is located and a copy of 
the application to the department.  If the land is within an area under the jurisdiction of 
the Maine Land Use Planning Commission, the applicant shall submit the verified 
application to the executive director of the commission and a copy to the department.  
The department shall develop an application form and make the form it available through 
the offices of the soil and water conservation districts and private organizations and 
public agencies that support or represent farmers in the State. 
2.  Eligibility.  A farm is eligible for designation under this section if the following 
criteria are met it engages in the management of cropland or the production of livestock, 
specialty crops or value-added products and meets the criteria established by the 
commissioner as follows: 
A.  The farm consists of land classified as prime farmland, land of statewide or local 
importance or unique farmland by the Natural Resources Conservation Service within 
the United States Department of Agriculture. In counties where land of local 
importance has not been identified, land that is actively farmed may be eligible as 
provided in rules adopted under subsection 4; 
B.  The land is used for farm is engaged in the commercial production of agricultural 
products; and or 
C.  Additional The farm complies with additional criteria established in rules adopted 
under subsection 4. 
A farm that is farmed under a lease may be designated as long as the landowner and the 
lessee sign the application. 
3.  Verification of eligibility.  An applicant for designation as a "Farming for Maine" 
farm Maine Farm Agricultural Resource Management and Sustainability recipient shall 
submit a completed application form together with support materials as required in rules 
adopted under subsection 4 to a soil and water conservation district office.  Upon receipt 
of an application, a district office shall verify the eligibility of the farm or notify the 
applicant of the reasons why verification is denied. Upon request, the department shall 
assist a district in determining eligibility the department for verification of eligibility. 
4.  Rules.  The commissioner may adopt rules to further define the verification 
process under subsection 3 and establish additional eligibility criteria as needed for 
designation of "Farming for Maine" farms Maine Farm Agricultural Resource 
Management and Sustainability recipients. The commissioner shall may provide signs or 
certificates or develop other means of recognizing a farm that has attained designation as 
a "Farming for Maine" farm Maine Farm Agricultural Resource Management and 
Sustainability recipient. Rules adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
5.  Fee.  A municipality The commissioner may charge a fee of not more than $20 for 
filing a verified designation application under fees as necessary for the administration of 
this section. 
SUMMARY 
This bill replaces the Farming for Maine farms program with the Maine Farms 
Agricultural Resource Management and Sustainability recognition program to recognize 
sustainable agricultural practices and to increase public awareness of agricultural 
producer commitment to best management practices.