A legal change removes building code provisions that made it hard to erect the structures in urban areas.
agriculture
Maine dairy farms are dwindling. A task force is being set up to find out why.
Maine has lost one-third of its commercial dairy farms since 2020. Emergency legislation signed by the governor calls for a task force to identify ways to keep the heritage industry healthy for decades to come.
Maine gets first application from a farmer who wants to sell contaminated farmland
The request was received on Monday, the first day the state began accepting applications for the $70 million Fund to Address PFAS Contamination.
Prisoners in the U.S. are part of a hidden workforce linked to hundreds of popular food brands
In a sweeping 2-year investigation, the Associated Press found goods linked to prisoners wind up in the supply chains of everything from Frosted Flakes cereal and Ball Park hot dogs to Gold Medal flour and Coca-Cola.
Maine eyes rule change to make it easier to grow food in urban areas
Lawmakers consider greenlighting more low-cost hoop houses to cultivate food.
Solar development in central Maine may open up greener pastures
Jefferson farmer and MSAD 11 teacher Michael Dennett is building his sheep grazing operation on agrivoltaics, the practice of using land for both agriculture and solar energy production.
FocusMaine wins $6.9 million Alfond grant to expand food economy jobs
The statewide workforce development group founded in 2016 has provided assistance to more than 180 Maine-based businesses in agriculture, aquaculture and biopharmaceuticals.
Photos: Visitors flock to Augusta to learn about agriculture, food systems
The Maine Department of Agriculture’s annual trade show got underway Tuesday at the Augusta Civic Center. A winter storm delayed the start of the second day of programming to noon on Wednesday. All photos by Joe Phelan.
Betting on broccoli to boost Maine’s farming economy and food availability
Good Shepherd Food Bank has launched an innovative company that makes it the first among 200 food banks nationwide to address hunger by investing in for-profit farming and processing.
Contaminated farm in Unity to become PFAS research site
Songbird Farm is one of a growing number of farms found to be contaminated with so-called forever chemicals from sludge fertilizer spread on fields, once a common, state-sanctioned practice.