Maine towns look for ways to keep farmers on farms

A new regional group hopes to help western Kennebec County municipalities help farmers in the face of development pressures and their own mortality. Members of Kennebec West, which so far includes residents from the towns of Manchester, Winthrop and Monmouth, plan to start their effort to help farmers by going directly to their subjects and talking to and surveying farmers, to learn their needs and what the group could do to help. After assessing the needs of farmers in the region, the group hopes to serve as an advocate for local farmers, mainly at the local level, extolling the benefits of preserving farmland to the public and working with municipalities to help protect and preserve the ability of farmers to farm successfully. That could include seeking property tax breaks from towns for some farmers in exchange for agricultural easements that would prevent their farmland from being developed for an agreed-upon number of years.