A legislative committee heard testimony today on a bipartisan bill to provide resources to farmers affected by federal funding cuts.
The bill presented by Senator Stacy Brenner, D-Cumberland, would modify the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund to provide funding in the event of lost federal grants or loans or to recover in the event of a disaster.
"We're not creating a new bureaucracy, we're strengthening a trusted tool. Giving farmers access to low interest state backed loans when they need them most. To recover, to rebuild and to continue to feed our communities," Brenner said.
Brenner said there is money currently available in the fund and redefining what it can be used for will put less stress on the general fund for agriculture.
Shelley Megquier, Policy and Research Director at the Maine Farmland Trust, said her organization supports this bill which will provide important resources to farmers who uplift rural economies.
"Many farms don't have the savings they need to remain financially solvent if expected income is lost or significantly delayed," Megquier said.
The original text of the bill would have provided loans for food banks as well, but Brenner said the amended proposal already has a funding source and amends a current program rather than creating a new one.
