| 
Four Seasons Farm in Harborside, Maine produces vegetables year-round and has become a nationally recognized model of small-scale sustainable agriculture.
A new credit union in Maine that is planning to open next year will become the first in the country to lend exclusively to farmers and food entrepreneurs.
Organizers announced earlier this week that the Maine Harvest Credit Project had reached its $2.4 million fundraising goal, a critical milestone on its quest to get a charter. The new credit union would be the 56th in Maine.
Once chartered, Maine Harvest will offer specialized loans and mortgages with a statewide goal to boost Maine’s growing agricultural economy.
“Our research estimates that there is about a $186 million financing gap among Maine farmers and food producers,” Amanda Beal, president & CEO of Maine Farmland Trust, said in a statement. “Bridging that gap will keep farmers on their land, help others scale and grow and generally act as a catalyst for this entire industry.”
Maine has over 8,000 farms that produce $3.8 billion in sales and create 24,000 jobs statewide. The agricultural sector is one of the largest, bringing younger people to Maine, with 40 percent of farmers currently age 34 or younger.
Maine’s entire political delegation announced its support for Maine Harvest in a letter to the National Credit Union Administration.
“We believe that this new, specialized credit union is important both to the credit union industry, and to the continued growth of Maine’s food-based economy,” the letter stated.
Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, as well as Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin, are requesting that the NCUA provide ‘careful consideration’ to Maine Harvest’s pending application for charter and licensure.
Members of Maine Harvest, which will become part of the Maine Credit Union League, will have access to shared branching and ATMs within its statewide network.
Having long recognized the strength of this project, MCUL’s board recently approved a significant donation, which put Maine Harvest over the funding finish line.
“Starting a credit union isn’t easy; it takes a lot of time, money, paperwork and dedicated people to guide the process,” Todd Mason, MCUL’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “The people behind this have worked tirelessly.”
The credit project’s founders have worked on Wall Street and Main Street and bring 60 plus years of financial experience combined with deep roots in Maine.
Co-founder Sam May was the senior wireless technology analyst for US Bancorp Piper Jaffray in Silicon Valley. Co-founder Scott Budde founded TIAA’s first department focused on impact investing strategies and created new investment programs in micro-finance and community bank deposits that deployed over $240 million in new capital.
Growing up in Midcoast Maine in the 1950s, May spent considerable time on a dairy farm, while Budde graduated Bowdoin College in 1981.
“Maine’s growing food economy needs access to capital,” said May. “We’ve crisscrossed the entire state talking with Maine’s most hard-working farmers to learn what they need most to become competitive – better access to capital.”
“Stronger local food systems are critical for improving environmental, community and personal health,” added Budde. “Our credit union work will be a key part of building that stronger system – one that can be replicated in other regions in America.”
Once the charter is approved, Maine Credit will be run by a CEO, governed by a Board of Directors and owned by its members. Maine Harvest’s organizer group includes farmers, philanthropists and credit union experts. It also includes Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, the granddaughter of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who in 1934 signed the Federal Credit Union Act.
Maine Harvest plans to begin staffing by spring, at which time it also plans to hire a specialized loan officer that uniquely understands the agricultural landscape. By June, Maine Harvest plans to open its headquarters in centrally located Unity, Maine.
