Mainebiz Special Editions

V O L . X X X N O. X I X 82 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine im Neuger, a Cleveland native and Princeton graduate, worked as a print reporter and bureau chief in Germany and Belgium for Bloomberg, covering economics (the rise and near demise of the euro), politics (remem- ber Helmut Kohl?) and war and peace (from the relative sanctity of the NATO pressroom). He enjoys riding horses and watching them race, and can name every Kentucky Derby winner since 1875. He and his wife Renee Cordes, a Mainebiz senior writer, live with their cockatiel Kori in Cape Elizabeth. Some of Jim's work is on display at www.jimletpix.com. J P H OTO E S S AY Farming, forestry and fishing — the three Fs of agriculture — make up a tiny slice of Maine's commercial life, generating 1.3% of the state's economic output. Small potatoes, as it were, but higher than the nationwide average of 0.9%. Whatever the numbers say, the cultivation of food occupies an outsized place in the state's consciousness. Most Mainers are only one or two degrees of separation away from the lobstering, livestock, dairy, crop-producing or berry-growing industries. Each year, from June through early October, Mainers can flex their farming muscles at more than two dozen agriculture fairs spotted around the state. Showcasing the past, present and future of the agribusiness, the events also serve up a goodly portion of fun and games. I visited four fairs in the 2023 season — up north in Presque Isle, in the midcoast town of Union, in centrally located Unity and in Fryeburg near the New Hampshire border — and came back with these images. A photographer's view of Maine's agricultural fairs Mainebiz contributor Jim Neuger spent a season visiting fairs from Fryeburg to Presque Isle P h o t o s a n d c a p t i o n s b y J i m N e u g e r ANIMAL KINGDOM: Whether on four legs, or with two legs and two wings, animals preen, graze, compete and generally hang out at every fair. The yoked creatures mugging for the camera at the Common Ground Country Fair in Unity (above left) are American Milking Devons, owned by Kim Winslow of Marston Homestead Farm. The breed descends from the first cattle imported into British North America in the early 17th century. Also at Common Ground (above right), Stephen Lee of Sandy Stream Farm milks one of his goats and is photobombed by another.

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