Jackson’s proposed rural economy task force hits roadblock
Courtesy / Sen. Troy Jackson
Aroostook County Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, has submitted a bill to form a task force to look at ways of strengthening the state's rural economy.
A bill proposed by Aroostook County Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, to form a task force to look at ways of strengthening the state’s rural economy has hit a roadblock.
A work session on the bill, LD 1747, was tabled by the Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Committee Tuesday, with no indication as to when it will be taken up again. The bill’s scope and makeup was questioned by representatives from the blueberry, forestry, and other agricultural industries at a Jan. 16 public hearing.
Jackson and Sen. Paul Davis, R-Piscataquis, chairman of the committee, could not be reached for comment on the tabling.
The task force would look into rural economy issues such as investment and development challenges, workforce training, labor shortages, marketing and branding opportunities, as well as examine how innovation, infrastructure and technology may play a role in long-term, sustainable success with the state’s rural economy, Jackson, the Senate Democratic leader, said at the Jan. 16 hearing.
The 13-member task force would include four senators, four representatives, the commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry or the commissioner's designee, the director of the Bureau of General Services or the director's designee; two public members representing blueberry harvesters and public member representing forest products landowners.
More agricultural voices needed?
Most of those who testified on the bill say the concept is important, but its execution needs adjustment.
The blueberry and forest representatives on the task force would be recommended by the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine and the Maine Forest Products Council, and members of both of those organizations said the scope of the committee should be expanded to include more agricultural representatives.
“The [Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine] strongly believes that it, along with the Maine Forest Products Council, cannot be, nor should be, the only agricultural voices participating on the task force,”said Nancy McBrady, executive director of the blueberry commission, said in written testimony. “It would be a disservice to the Maine agricultural community to only have our two voices at the table.”
She said “relevant voices and perspectives” that should be included could be the Maine Potato Board, Maine Farm Bureau, the Agriculture Council of Maine, the Maine Aquaculture Association, the Maine Dairy Industry Association, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
The Maine Forest Products Council, the other organization named in the bill, also agreed the scope was too limited, said Michele MacClean, of Capitol Strategies, in written testimony submitted for the group, which represents logging contractors, sawmills, paper mills, biomass energy facilities, pellet manufacturers, furniture manufacturers and commercial forestland.
While the council appreciates Jackson’s emphasis on the rural economy, it shares the concern of the blueberry commission.
‘Overwhelming broad and complex’
Julie-Marie Bickford of the Maine Dairy Association said that the bill is “vague and lacking in specific objectives.
“Agriculture today is a highly complex and technical industry sector,” she said. “While there are some commonalities, such as fuel and labor, regulation and taxes, the needs of this sector vary widely depending on the specific crop or product being produced...It is tackling a broad subject area that has challenged industry leaders and innovators for decades, and involves a long list of crops and activities that are highly diverse and divergent.”
She said “any worthwhile study of such wide-reaching factors would require years of research and analysis,” not the six months outlined in the bill
She also said the issues it would tackled — increasing economic activity in rural areas, investment and labor challenges, the need to explore efforts to expand branding of Maine-made products, and taking steps to encourage in-state use of biofuels — are valid but “clumped together are overwhelming broad and complex.”
She said the blueberry and forest industries are important economic segments of the state’s natural resource-based economy, but have little in common with other agricultural industries that aren’t represented.
Julie Smith, of the Maine Farm Bureau, which is also not named in the bill, said the bureau is the state's largest grassroots farm organization, made up of “every type of agriculture commodity and production philosophy.”
“While we applaud Sen. Jackson's appreciation for agriculture in Maine and his interest in investing resources to improve economic prosperity in rural parts of our great state, Maine Farm Bureau cannot offer our full support of LD 1747 without some clarification and changes,” she said.
She also said the bill appears similar to the U.S. Agriculture Department’s lnteragency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity, which was established last April and is expected to complete its work by November.
“Members of the National Task Force traveled to 30 states throughout the nation and held listening sessions,” she said. “The Task Force identified over 100 recommendations for the federal government to consider in order to help improve life in rural America.” She said that the Maine task force may be replicating work that was already being done.
Walter Whitcomb, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, submitted testimony in opposition of the bill, saying it would form “another unnecessary study.”
Emergency measure
Jackson had proposed the bill as an emergency measure during the short session, so that it could be taken up during the full session that begins in the fall.
Speaking at the public hearing, he said that the state’s “forests, farmlands and fisheries are some of our greatest assets,” with untapped potential for growth.
Jackson said there are barriers in rural parts of the state holding back growth of many of the state’s agricultural industries, including blueberries, potatoes and forest products.
“As we saw with the Maine lobster, years of focused work helped promote its brand for quality,” he said. “It is now a world-renowned product.”
Forming the task force, he said, would make a commitment “to these vital agricultural industries that we will work with them to help them succeed and grow.”
“These natural assets that are unique to Maine give us so much potential,” he said. “Investments in these vital industries will create jobs for generations to come and support a sustainable economy for rural Maine.”
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