Maine Family Farm Expands and Thrives with Help from Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

Escalating land values and development pressures threatened to put an end to Lakeside, which once encompassed 5,000 acres but now grows apples on only 189 acres.

When Marilyn and Steve Meyerhans, who own a 45-acre orchard in Fairfield, leased Lakeside, they researched the possibility of selling off their development rights.

Selling development rights is a strategy that helps keep land productive by preventing future development and lowering property values, thus making the land more affordable for agricultural use.

Learn more about the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and other Farm Bill programs.

The state was able to acquire a conservation easement on the orchard with funds from the Land for Maine's Future program and the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program, both designed to help purchase development rights to keep farmland in production.

"Lakeside was kept as a farm with the support of special programs from the state," Herman said.

The easement eventually allowed the Meyerhanses four years ago to buy the land, maintaining a business that continues to enrich the regional culture and economy.

"What we were trying to do was make our other business more viable," Marilyn Meyerhans said.

"The two businesses work well together. We have two farm stands, one at each place, and we have more production. We sell to some of the Hannaford stores and we have organic apples we sell to Whole Foods Market in Boston," she said.

Each year, Lakeside generates 13,000-18,000 bushels of apples, which the Meyerhanses also sell to Augusta schools and Colby and Bowdoin colleges.

The Meyerhanses operate a retail store on Route 17 that offers a variety of fresh produce, cut flowers and baked goods, in addition to fresh apples and cider.

"I think, in the old days, the growers who were around during the '60s and '70s, also didn't have as much competition with fruits in the grocery store," she said. "Now, with transportation as cheap as it is, they're bringing inexpensive fruit over from China and Australia and there's a lot of variety. It's changed the market how we sell apples, and we have to be a little more creative with that."

Story by Mechele Cooper, Maine Today, Kennebec Journal