NEWBURGH, Maine — The Maine Dairy Industry Association and the Eastern Maine Development Corporation (EMDC) have partnered to launch a workforce development program to support Maine’s dairy industry.
The collaboration is designed to attract more workers to the dairy industry and provide training to sustain dairy farms across the state.
The organizations received $750,000 in funding for the program.
Heath Miller is a sixth-generation dairy farmer at Green Valle Farm in Newburgh. His family’s farm has been around since 1850.
"We get to take care of our animals, take care of the land, and provide nutritious products for our neighbors ultimately to enjoy," Miller said.
Though the business has been around for generations, it has not been without some challenges.
Miller said they have had difficulty finding experienced employees and would benefit from the job training this new program will provide.
Due to a lack of workers, many farms across the state are struggling to stay open.
According to state data, in 2017 there were around 240 dairy farms in Maine, and now there are just 140.
"The dairy industry in Maine, we like to say, is kind of the backbone of Central Maine agriculture," Miller said. "And if we lose that, we really don’t get it back."
EMDC and the Maine Dairy Industry Association decided to team up to help farms that are having a hard time finding and retaining workers.
"Dairy farms are dwindling. And so, this initiative is going to help find the workers to work on the farms and stay on the farms," Lee Umphrey, president and CEO of EMDC said.
Umphrey said they aim to find people interested in working on dairy farms, cultivate their skills, and incentivize them to stay.
"Dairy farms are really essential in our identity, state identity. So, our project is going to help by having a pipeline of workers who have the right skills to succeed," Umphrey explained.
Miller hopes the program can help create a sustainable future for Maine's dairy farms.
"Hopefully we can get this funded on a more permanent level so that maybe this can be a program that will be here for many years to come," he said.
EMDC is starting to work with around 10 farms and wants to expand its reach with more funding.