Mainebiz

V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 A P R I L 6 , 2 0 1 5 For a daily digest of Maine's top busi- ness news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is some of the best from our online-only offerings: Featured @ Mainebiz.biz From the Editor M aine's role in becoming a food hub is one I've heard a lot of conversation about in the past year. Like many states, Maine struggles with changes in the economy, global competition, an aging demographic, a lack of skilled workers, changing consumer tastes and on and on. ere are all kinds of good things going on, but when you look at resources and what Maine has to off er, there are many who keep coming back to this: Maine has an abundance of agricultural land and sea resources and there is a clear demand for quality food at a reasonable price. Couldn't the state produce more of not only what Mainers need but the rest of the country needs as well? At a lunch I had with U.S. Sen. Angus King and his staff , they pointed out the enormous percentage of food that Maine must "import" over the Piscataqua River at Maine's southern border. ey asked: Why couldn't more of that be grown or produced in Maine? Talking to Peter Vigue, chairman of Maine's larg- est construction fi rm, Pittsfi eld-based Cianbro Cos., he lamented Maine's economy being "stuck in a rut." But he urged the public and private sectors to get together to fi gure out how Maine can become more of a food center. It could be argued that Bill Haggett, who at one time led the defense contractor Bath Iron Works and now oversees the Pineland Farms Food Group and its $100 million business of producing cheese, natural meats and potato products, illustrates how signifi - cant food production has become in the state. Rodney McCrum, who grew up on a potato farm in Aroostook County, fi gured out how to turn a commodity into a value-added product, a prepared mashed potato that could be sold in Applebee's restaurants or in Hannaford stores under the Pineland Farms Naturally Potatoes label. Noting the growing demand for food products, Libra Foundation, which was founded with money from microprocessors, has invested in Pineland Farms and Naturally Potatoes. Elsewhere, farmers who cannot get conventional bank fi nancing are turning to invest- ment fi rms like Wiscasset-based CEI for targeted agriculture loans, sometimes for less than $10,000, with repayment schedules to match cash fl ow. Portland's restaurant scene has gained national atten- tion, but at least part of its success is based on the farm- to-table movement and the access to fresh foods. On Maine's journey to becom- ing a food hub, distribution and processing remain major issues. Rural farmers are often at the end of the road, making trucking and transportation a major expense. Processing remains a challenge for various food producers: A signifi cant portion of Maine's lobsters are processed and packed in Canada. Likewise, much of the wheat grown here is processed in Canada. e Maine blueberries Rockland-based Bixby & Co. uses in its chocolate bars must be sent to Michigan to be dehydrated. Cattle raised at Pineland Farms' Fort Fairfi eld facility are sent to Pennsylvania to be slaughtered. Much of Maine's success in becoming a food hub does and will continue to depend on farmers. As Senior Writer Lori Valigra discovered on three recent visits to organic farms is that, whatever you might pay for a Maine product at a downtown restaurant or at Whole Foods, you may be more likely to fi nd a farmer hunched over a calculator than a tractor. Dollars and cents mat- ter. As Lori points out in the story, putting labels like "organic" on products is a pricey business, one fraught with costly upgrades and regulatory paperwork. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz As the old saying goes, you can't eat scenery Reviving an inn with history A native Mainer and hotel industry vet- eran has purchased an inn in Kingfield that was built by the father of Sugarloaf ski resort's founder. What drove John E. Banta, who previously worked for a hotel in Japan, to make the purchase? Find out at mainebiz.biz/WintersHill. Step aside, Bangor? The parent company of Camden National Bank has reached an agreement to buy the Bank of Maine in a deal that could make it the largest Maine-based bank. Learn about how the deal would expand Camden National's geographic reach and more at mainebiz.biz/CNBdeal. CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER. We're proud to announce that attorney Asha Echeverria received the prestigious AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell®. Its peer review rating system recognizes attorneys who demonstrate the highest level of ethical standards and legal ability. For sound legal counsel in Maine and around the world, call us today. Portland, ME | Augusta, ME | Manchester, NH 207 774-1200 | bernsteinshur.com An inside look Get a digest of the state's largest commercial real estate transactions, industry movers and more in our weekly Real Estate Insider newsletter. Sign up at mainebiz.biz/enews.

• Cover