We own a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm in Freeport. The CSA farming community has tremendous support from our customers, but we are often asked by our customers if they can do more to help us. I am writing this letter to ask the public to support local farms by voting “yes” on Ballot Item 2; what we call the “diagnostic lab.”

We are fortunate in Maine to have world class professionals at the University of Maine to help us diagnose problems when they arise on our farms. The laboratory facilities at the university are too old, outdated, and undersized to serve our needs.

The lab, used to do analysis of animal disease, cannot accept any animal larger than a deer or large sheep. Yes, I said deer. Many people don’t realize that the same lab that serves agriculture also serves our wildlife professionals, so it’s important that it be improved to allow diagnosis of problems in large animals such as moose, horses and cows.

At the other end of the size spectrum are ticks. Maine currently has no facility routinely engaged in the identification of diseases carried by ticks. As we’ve all seen in recent weeks, biosecurity in human health systems is critical. The laboratory that would result from this bond will include state of the art biosecurity facilities to keep our professionals safe and prevent the inadvertent spread of plant or animal disease in Maine.

So, YES there is something the public supporters of local farms can do to help us. And at the same time it will help wildlife, fisheries, horticulture, and public health as well. Yes on “2” is very important to our farm and it’s a winwin win for Maine.

Ralph Turner
Freeport