INTRODUCTION

Agricultural and forest resources were the backbone upon which much of Lincolnville was first settled. Over the centuries, these resources nurtured and supported countless generations of Lincolnville families. While it is true that today’s resources do not support the number of family groups that were supported a century ago, it is no less true that the forest and agricultural resources provide a very real dimension to the quality of life experienced by many of today’s Lincolnville residents. This inventory will be divided into three main sections: agricultural resources, forest resources, and combined issues such as tax laws and the economic vitality of the resource which affect both forest and agricultural questions

AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES IN LINCOLNVILLE

History of Farming In Lincolnville: From Lincolnville’s incorporation in 1802 until quite recently, most of its citizens were sustained by agriculture. In the early days, land was cleared, hay harvested for livestock, and small fields of corn and oats and wheat were sown. There were reportedly periods during the 1800s when Lincolnville shipped grain from the Beach and the Trap to distant ports. Almost all farms had a small orchard and garden. As history unfolded through the 19th and early 20th century, Lincolnville’s agriculture grew, with occasional setbacks from war, embargo and weather. The embargo of 1807 worked a great hardship on many Lincolnville farmers. The War of 1812 was a difficult period with the ever-present danger of British raiding parties. In 1816, summer never arrived. Frost came every month that year, spelling disaster to farmers. Throughout the first half of the 19th century, most of Lincolnville’s farmers existed on a subsistence level.

After the Civil War, the farmers of Lincolnville started to venture into the production of cash crops. Canneries were set up in Hope and Union. Lincolnville farmers produced dry beans, squash, and other vegetables for the canneries. Despite these ventures into self reliance, the century closed with a continued loss of farmers to richer agricultural regions to the West.

In the 20th century, farmers searched for new markets for cash crops. There was a demand for fresh strawberries, which were shipped to urban markets from the Beach. A veal calf market developed with an abattoir in Belfast. Although blueberries were first canned in Maine around the time of the Civil War, commercial production in the Mid-Coast area really did not take off until the 1920s.

In the 1930s, an improved road system, tanker trucks and the introduction of electricity all contributed to the development of farms devoted to milk production. As late as 1970, there were still five dairy farms in Lincolnville. In 1991 there is one.

In the 1940s, a pullet industry was developed. Farmers were given young chicks, raising them and keeping the laying hens. On some farms up to 4,000 eggs a day were collected. In the 1950s the broiler industry developed, with Belfast advertising itself as the ‘Broiler Capital of the World’. Chicken barns peppered the landscape in Lincolnville and other Waldo County towns. The broiler industry collapsed in the early 1980s, a victim of market economics. Recent attempts to revive the industry have not been successful.

Changing economic conditions resulting in the loss of market share seem to be a common thread running through the history of Lincolnville agriculture.

Soils and Weather Information Relevant to Agriculture: Soils form the foundation of any agricultural enterprise. The Soil Conservation Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, conducted field work for the Waldo County Soil Survey in 1967-68. This work formed the basis for the Waldo County Medium Intensity Soil Survey, published in 1981.

That survey defined prime farmland as land that is best suited to producing food, feed, forage, fiber and oilseed crops coupled with an adequate growing season and moisture supply to produce sustained high yield crops. The Soil and Water Conservation Service has identified 14 prime farmland soil types in Waldo County. Most of these prime soils are fairly well drained and all have slopes between 0% and 8%.

The majority of prime farmlands are located in the northern part of Waldo County. Due to Lincolnville’s poorer soils, only about 7% of Lincolnville’s 25,000 acres could be considered prime farmland.

Lincolnville is fortunate to have rainfall evenly distributed throughout the growing season. Seasonal variations do occur, sometimes resulting in very dry summers. Yearly precipitation averages over 48 inches. The growing season in Lincolnville can vary greatly from place to place, as well as year to year. Elevation, proximity to the ocean and cool low spots can influence the length of a growing season. The Belfast recording station reported there is a probability of at least 130 frost-free days in nine out of 10 years. Suffice it to say that the data recorded shows a sufficient rainfall and growing season for most temperate crops.

Agricultural Inventory: The change in agriculture during the past 40 years has been striking. Almost no one living in Lincolnville in 1992 earns his or her living exclusively from agriculture. In the spring and early summer of 1991, members of the Comprehensive Planning Committee conducted an informal survey of agricultural land in Lincolnville, identifying 171 parcels in town where some form of agricultural activity is conducted. The following table shows the results of that survey.

Although Lincolnville is not one of the major blueberry-producing towns in the Mid-Coast area, its blueberry production does contribute to the town’s economic vitality. As a hi-annual crop, if approximately 139 acres of blue-berries are harvested each year in Lincolnville with an average yield of 2,000 lbs per acre at an average price of 40 cents per lb., then the gross income from the crop is $111,200. Yield and field price can vary considerably from year to year. Over the last 10 years the field price has ranged from 23 to 52 cents per pound. At the present time there are no operating facilities in Waldo or Knox counties for freezing, canning or processing, other than for fresh-pack berries.

FOREST RESOURCES:

History: The early settlers of Lincolnville found a thickly forested landscape, which was slowly cleared for pasture, hay fields and

gardens. As the lime industry developed in the Mid-Coast area during the 1820s, Lincolnville forests were cut for cordwood needed to fire the kilns. By the 1870s much of Lincolnville had been cut over, like many towns in the area. The lime trade also gave rise to the cooperage industry. A number of farmers spent part of the winter months fashioning wooden barrels to be sold for the shipment of lime.

Prime Forest Soils: The Soil Conservation Service defines prime forest soils as those capable of growing wood at an economic and productive growth rate for a given tree species. Soils with a rating of medium, high or very high are considered prime forest soils. Of the 73 soil groups in Waldo County, 11 are rated very high, 42 are rated high and 14 are rated medium. This brings the total of prime forest soil groups to 67. About the only soils that aren’t in the prime groups are the very rocky Masardis soils and the mucky Searsport and Swanville group.

Inventory: It is estimated that 75% to 80% of Lincolnville’s land area, exclusive of water, is forest covered. This would round out to approximately 17,500 acres. A substantial portion of this total, approximately 2,200 acres, are occupied by Tanglewood and the Lincolnville section of the Camden Hills State Park. Woodsmen who derive part of their living from wood harvesting operations in Lincolnville estimate that 25% of the resource is currently ready for harvest, 25% has no present market value, because it is young growth or is in transition from former agricultural land. 25% has no wood value because of a variety of zoning, conservation or other restrictions, 10% is trash wood and 15% is inaccessible because of steep slopes etc. These men estimate the forest at 60% hardwood and 40% softwood.

Perhaps more than his forefathers did in past generations, today’s woodsman faces a daunting array of economic and bureaucratic obstacles to keep up with the market. The market for wood products varies with the economy. Pulp from Lincolnville forests can go to Skowhegan, Madison or Bucksport. When the market is up, white pine saw logs go to Robbins Mill in Searsmont. Some saw logs also go to small one-man operations in Lincolnville, Hope and Appleton. When the building industry is strong, Viking of Belfast will buy saw logs which are custom cut at Pearse’s Mill in Searsmont.

ISSUES AFFECTING FOREST AND AGRICULTURE IN LINCOLNVILLE

Tree Growth Tax Law: This law allows landowners a reduction in property taxes by having their property formally classified in the Tree Growth Program. In 1991 Lincolnville had 22 parcels, owned by 16 residents in the Tree Growth Tax Program. The table below illustrates the mix of wood and total acreage in the program.