Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. X X I I I T he Maine Malt House, part of the family-owned Buck Farms in Mapleton, Aroostook County, was established last year by brothers Joshua, Jacob and Jared Buck to provide malt for the booming craft-beer industry. None of the three Buck brothers ever wanted to leave home beyond going to college — Joshua in residential con- struction, Jacob in electrical engineering and Jared in computer-aided drafting — but the farm wasn't big enough for the brothers to establish themselves as owners. So they researched an alterna- tive crop and came upon malt barley as one that would fit with the burgeon- ing craft beer industry. ey drew up a business plan, obtained two agricultural development grants totaling $95,000 to buy a dry kiln and quality-monitoring equipment, and invested sweat equity to cultivate 250 acres, which last year and this yielded 700 tons of grain all told. "We're at the stage of growing our customer base, getting breweries to try our product and switch some of their malt order to us," says Joshua Buck. With barley otherwise sourced from the western United States, Canada and Europe, the Bucks figure they're positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for local product. "You can't beat being here in e County," he says. "One of the big things is the people. And it's so beau- tiful. You wake up and look outside and it's a beautiful day. Plus it's nice to work with your family every day." Flight of the youth Still, the story of the Buck brothers is where e County would like to be headed, but it's not necessarily repre- sentative of the past five decades. Aroostook County, youth flight in relation to a lack of professional employment opportunities and the closure of Loring Air Force Base in the early 1990s has driven the population down by a third from its peak in 1960. e Aroostook Partnership for Progress seeks to reverse that trend by attracting new employers, retain- ing existing employers, connecting with educators to link students with emerging jobs and showing folks who have departed, no matter their age, they can get both good jobs and a great quality of life at home. With the help of APP's advocacy, networking and facilitation efforts, e County has seen more than $500 million in investment, with about 430 new jobs created over the last three years and an increase in average wages of more than $37,000, says APP presi- dent Robert Dorsey. "For a rural county in Maine, that's significant," he says. APP's goal is 3,000 new jobs, continued investment and increases in wages. It is targeting four industries: alternative energy, forestry, manufac- turing and diversified agriculture. "We've been looking internally at the county's assets, strengths and opportunities, and basing our growth on that," Dorsey says. APP is a public-private partnership that got its start in 2004, in response to a report that documented the popula- tion decline between the 1960s and 2001. "Tarnished Crown: Building A Future For e Children of Aroostook County," prepared by the Northern Maine Development Commission and the Maine Public Service Company with help from economist Charles Colgan, says the county's peak population was 106,064 in 1960. Over the subsequent four decades, the population declined to 73,140 — the largest population drop of any county in New England. rough 2012, the population continued to decline, to 71,757. e 1994 closure of Aroostook's Loring Air Force Base, exacerbated the problem, the report says. Without mitigation efforts, the report suggests a scenario in which population decline could continue at the same rate to 2025, with a net loss of about 650 people per year. Aroostook is also challenged by a rise in median age, as baby boomers grow older and younger people leave. All of Maine is similarly challenged. However, the report says, Aroostook's decline is most striking among Maine's counties, with more than 40% of youth age 15 to 29 leaving the county in the 1990s. e projected population decline and the resulting challenge of secur- ing a future workforce was one driver for forming APP, says Dorsey. "ere's a perception that you have to leave the county or the state to get a good job, which isn't the case," TOP: The growing and processing of grain are important components of the future of Aroostook County. MIDDLE: Logging, forestry and related work have been and continue to be mainstays in The County, despite the bleaker picture for paper mills in Maine. BOTTOM: Potatoes have gotten new life in Aroostook County as more companies look for new ways to sell and package them. P H O T O / A RO O S T O O K PA R T N E R S H I P F O R P RO G R E S S P H O T O / A RO O S T O O K PA R T N E R S H I P F O R P RO G R E S S P H O T O / A RO O S T O O K PA R T N E R S H I P F O R P RO G R E S S Opening the door for opportunity In The County, investment equals jobs B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r O C T O B E R 5 , 2 0 1 5 34 N O R T H E R N M A I N E F O C U S

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