Agricultural Business and Market Development

• Agritourism - Agritourism connects people with farms and food producers to raise agricultural awareness; especially for consumers and people who want to be informed agricultural supporters. Agritourism looks different for every farmer – farms may participate in Real Maine events like Open Farm Day, the Maine Ice Cream trail, or the Fall Fiber Tour & Trail, or producer group events. Farms may use agritourism to raise awareness of their brand and to create additional revenue sources via events, and farm-direct sales.
• Business Planning Assistance - Farms are businesses, and business planning is essential to create a sustainable business. Since farmers and food producers often have different planning needs from other businesses, farmers need to identify business planning assistance that fits their needs.
• Promotional / Exhibitor Opportunities - Showing or selling your farm and food products or promoting related services at events, Fairs and Trade Shows can help expand your customer base throughout Maine, New England, and beyond. Participating typically requires submitting an application, paying a fee, and preparing customer outreach and promotional plans.
• Real Maine Promotions Program - Real Maine helps promote Maine farm products across the state, country and globe. An online directory of members helps consumers and wholesale buyers locate Maine farm products, and experiences. Real Maine members benefit from promotional opportunities and support to enhance their brand and existing promotional efforts.
• Foreign Export Trade Assistance - Funds are available to finance promotional activities to help your business begin to sell internationally for the first time or support those already doing foreign export trade.
• Farmers' Markets - Selling at farmers' markets enables you to sell your products directly to consumers. It can be a way to introduce a new product before scaling up and selling it elsewhere or it can be a sustainable market channel. Many farmers' markets participate in programs that make products more affordable for low-income shoppers.
• Farmland Protection - To ensure that Maine continues to grow local produce and preserve a heritage industry, protecting existing farmland in the face of development, housing, encroaching woods, and farmer retirement is critical. There are tax reduction and other programs that help retain farmland.
• Farm to Institution - Institutions, including hospitals, universities, and prisons, exist throughout Maine and may offer contracts to purchase significant amounts of local food. Connecting local producers and institutions will help ensure that all Mainers have access to delicious local food.