BILL BAMFORD AN IMPORTANT PLAYER TO THE STORY – NEED TO HEAR FROM HIM

NEED MORE INFO ON FARM, HISTORY, ACREAGE, HOW MUCH AND WHAT KIND OF PRODUCE, HOW MANY WORKERS (FROM STANDARD & POOR’S (ON WEB) REPORT: the two leading employers being Haven Healthcare (130) and Maxwell Farms, produce farm 60)

IT SEEMS UNCLEAR WHETHER THE FARMING OPERATION IS THREATENED.

DOES THE PERSON WHO RUNS THE RETAIL FARM STAND NEED TO BE A FARMER (AS STORY SAYS)?

When a rumor began that Maxwell’s farm stand in Cape Elizabeth would not reopen this spring, neighbors of the Spurwink Avenue farm became concerned. Bryan Connelly, of Wilton Lane, said that when that rumor was confirmed, he sent an e-mail to some of his neighbors. They began a discussion amongst themselves and with the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust about what they could do to help preserve the land.

Chris Franklin, executive director of the Land Trust, said that he has talked to the Maxwells for many years about the future of their land, letting them know that the Land Trust would like to help them preserve it. “My sense is that some of the land will be protected,” Franklin said, but the decision is ultimately up to the landowners.

Ken Maxwell is a fifth-generation farmer in Cape Elizabeth. When he and wife Elsie retired, they deeded their farmland to their children, splitting up the land between their son Nate and their daughter and son-in-law, Lois and Bill Bamford. “We just leave it up to them,” said Elsie Maxwell of decisions that need to be made about the farmland.

Connelly said that the Maxwells have been “incredibly gracious with the casual use of their land.” He and his family use the property to walk their dogs, cross-country ski and track animals. “There’s incredible wildlife back there,” Connelley said, “It’s really a gem in Cape Elizabeth.”

Elsie Maxwell thinks that the “For Lease” sign that recently went up in front of the farm stand is “what’s scaring everybody.” But the Maxwells are simply trying to rent out the building, while continuing to sell their crops wholesale. Maxwell said that a day care center would likely move into the building, but Franklin said that it’s still a possibility that another farmer would rent out the market to sell produce. Elsie Maxwell said she thinks that the neighbors are concerned that they’ll no longer be able to use the land. “They like to walk through there,” she said, “but I don’t think anybody is going to stop them.” According to Connelly and Franklin, it’s more than that.

Connelly said that he and his neighbors particularly enjoyed the land as a working farm. They like to watch the cycle of the crops growing and being harvested.

Franklin agreed that keeping the land as a working working farm is “a great tradition to uphold,” especially because only four farms remain in town – a town where once 50 farms thrived.

“Farms are a wonderful asset to any community,” Franklin said.