Waldoboro farm to receive federal grant to build new processing facility, establish Growers Collective
A Waldoboro farm is one of five Maine agricultural ventures in line for federal funding to expand operations. The $1 million is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program.
Tops'l Farm, in Waldoboro, will use the funding to build a new processing facility to create products highlighting Maine-grown ingredients. The project supports over 30 farms, expands distribution to online and retail markets, and establishes the Tops’l Farm Growers Collective to strengthen agricultural resilience.
“Agriculture and aquaculture have played an enormous role in Maine’s history and heritage, and our farms are vital to ensuring long-term food security — and the economic wellbeing of our state,” said Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a longtime organic farmer who serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture and the House Agriculture Committee. “These grants are game changers not only for the farmers and producers who receive them, but for their communities, as well. I’m a proud supporter of RFSI, and sincerely believe that programs like these can help our country create more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food systems.”
The RFSI funding for Maine is part of $420 million made available through the American Rescue Plan, which Pingree proudly supported and helped pass.
The four other projects receiving funding from Maine's $1 million share include:
- Bouchard Family Farm in Fort Kent, to expand the farm’s processing facility to include a new addition, more milling capacity, and increased storage. The upgrade facility will double the farm’s production of gluten-free buckwheat flour, aimed at boosting the use of buckwheat as a rotation crop for local farms.
- Maine Grains in Skowhegan, to add capacity for grain extrusion, enabling the production of ready-to-eat products made with local grains and helping connect small producers to new markets.
- Maine Coast Sea Vegetables in Hancock, to install and operate a seaweed powder mill to process farm-raised kelp into powder, which will help fill a supply chain gap for Maine's seaweed growers.
- Atlantic Sea Farms in Biddeford, to expand kelp processing capacity by increasing cold storage, automating production lines, and developing infrastructure for dried and fermented kelp products.