Advocates hope to find new owners for a popular midcoast farm

Despite its closure to the public last fall, The Morris Farm in Wiscasset will continue to be part of the community, as Maine Farmland Trust is currently in the process of purchasing the farm.

Past and present board members of The Morris Farm Trust, which owns The Morris Farm, and supporters attended an informational meeting and picnic held by Maine Farmland Trust the afternoon of July 18 to hear about the sale and discuss the future of the property at 156 Gardiner Road.

Seaver Leslie, a founding member of The Morris Farm Trust, said preserving the farm has been a group effort since the board was established in 1995.

“Everybody is revved up, so this is so exciting,” Leslie said.

Maine Farmland Trust Senior Adviser for Farmland Access Stacy Brenner led the meeting, detailing the nonprofit’s interest in purchasing the property.

The Morris Farm Trust’s hardship with funding began around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset in 2020.

Like many other organizations, The Morris Farm Trust was forced to cancel fundraising opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a $30,000 shortfall for the year, The Morris Farm Trust said in a February 2021 press release.

“We have always been in need of public support, but the pandemic erased all our best-laid plans, as it has for most nonprofits,” Madelyn Hennessey, a board member of The Morris Farm Trust, said in February 2021.

Uncertain what the future would hold for the land, The Morris Farm Trust board closed the farm to the public in November 2023 while continuing administrative and operational tasks.

Around the same time, The Morris Farm Trust board approached Maine Farmland Trust with concerns about the property’s future, including the impending expiration date for the deed restriction on the farm, according to Brenner. The deed restriction, which was implemented to restrict the use of the property to agricultural uses, is set to expire in 2025.

Maine Farmland Trust members met and discussed their options with First National Bank about the farm and ultimately decided to pursue the property.

The cost of the project — the farm’s purchase, carrying costs, repairs and support services — is estimated to be nearly $400,000, according to Maine Farmland Trust Assistant Director of Engagement Emily Gherman-Lad.

Brenner said Maine Farmland Trust is implementing its four-step program in regard to the purchase and reestablishment of The Morris Farm: buy, support, protect and sell.

Following the nonprofit’s purchase of the farm and establishment of a new farmer, Maine Farmland Trust will offer business planning support services to the new farmer over a lease period of three to five years, according to Gherman-Lad. Even under new ownership, the operation will still be called The Morris Farm.

Maine Farmland Trust will permanently protect the farm from development with an agricultural easement and may ultimately sell it to the farmer at the end of the lease period.

“This approach allows farmers time to develop their business and access financial lending services, and has potential to provide access to farmers who wouldn’t otherwise be able to farm on the property,” Gherman-Lad said.

Maine Farmland Trust hopes to have a new farmer onsite before the planting season begins next spring, according to Brenner. The nonprofit will be requesting business proposals from potential farmers once the sale closes, which is slated for August.

For more information, call Maine Farmland Trust at 207-338-6575, email info@mainefarmlandtrust.org go to mainefarmlandtrust.org , or find the nonprofit on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn.

This article appears through a media partnership with The Lincoln County News .