Like many Mainers, my agricultural roots run deep. My great grandfather came from Cape Breton in the late 19th century to help build the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad. He married a Maine girl and settled down in Monticello where he farmed potatoes for the rest of his life. His son farmed potatoes in Blaine, retiring in the 1960’s. My ambition as a little boy was to be a farmer in Maine. I did have a microfarm between 2008 and about 2015 in China, Maine on which I grew strawberries, vegetables and dry beans.
Agriculture is hugely important to Maine and Maine people, not just in dollars, but in our way of life. It is a huge part of who we are. We must support Maine agriculture and the people who work in it.
As governor, I will support a minimum wage for farm workers. Some forty years ago, while living in Blaine, I thought I’d try my hand at picking potatoes. In those days, a few farms were still using pickers and there were daily broadcasts on the radio advertising for farm help. I drove up to Caribou to pick russets that weren’t much larger than jumbo eggs. I worked all day, picked many hundreds of potatoes, and made about ten dollars. That was my first and last day as a potato picker.
As governor, I will advocate for teaching agriculture and traditional self-sufficiency in our public schools. In today’s world, we never know what is going to happen to our food supply. Maine needs to expand its agricultural base to decrease our dependence on national and international food supplies. Maine is blessed with an abundance of unused arable land, much of which is still suitable for growing crops. Maine government needs to make it easier for those whose who want to farm, to enter farming and have access to land.
As governor, I will also support increasing protections and preservation of our best farmland. Housing subdivisions, solar installations, and other commercial uses, for example, should be sited in other locations where possible. I will support using public monies to preserve farmland that is threatened by development. Much of Maine is changing rapidly, in some places too rapidly. Maine must retain its agriculture and not lose its agricultural knowledge and identity as a wonderful place to live and raise a family.
Growing Maine’s sustainable agriculture will be a major priority for me as governor.
