A Cumberland County landowner is offering a free, 50-to-100 year land lease for someone who wants to farm his property. The roughly seven acres are located in Harpswell, where property is pricey and there is little to no arable land that’s available. It even sports the state’s oldest Baldwin apple tree.
But there are some catches. An adjacent 3,370-square-foot farmhouse and barn don’t come with it. There are also no power or water hookups on the property at this time.
Still, owner Mike Maher hopes someone will take him up on his offer and said he’s had five or six serious inquiries since the Maine Farmland Trust posted the offer on its Facebook page on Saturday.
“I don’t want to make money from this,” Maher said. “I just want to find a way to make sure this farm is viable for the next generation.”
It’s an unusual opportunity, given that it can be increasingly expensive for newer farmers to obtain their own land in Maine, particularly in regions such as the midcoast where there is also stiff demand for new housing development. More up-and-coming farmers have been opting to rent their land in recent years, though typically that isn’t free either.
Maher is a Cumberland County native who recently sold most of his San Francisco-based boutique clothing company to a private equity firm. He bought the entire 34-acre, waterfront farm at 1353 Harpswell Neck Rd. in 2021 for $1.5 million.
Maher’s property is near the water, and its land is now assessed at $1.36 million, according to local tax records.
Currently, Maher lives in Colorado and summers at the Harpswell farmhouse. This winter he’s renting it out via Airbnb.
“I’ll always keep the farmhouse,” he said. “I know it’s a weird situation.”
Originally, after purchasing the farm, Maher sought to use the arable land to set up a combination organic farming and business school. But when that plan fell apart, he landed on just offering a free lease to someone who’d like to farm the land. Ideally, Maher said, he’d like to see an organic farm with a mix of vegetables, animals and orchards.
“I’m a big believer in small, organic farms,” he said.
According to the Maine Farmland Trust listing, the land could also be used for cannabis production.
Maher thinks the parcel would work well as either auxiliary land for an established farm or space for a brand new one, although any future tenant will need to pay to have a well drilled on the property as well as having it wired for electricity.
Maher said he doesn’t think those caveats will be a barrier for potential farmers.
“It just proves commitment,” he said.
It’s a rare opportunity, if a complicated one.
As of Monday, there were no other pieces of arable land available for sale or lease in Harpswell, according to the Maine MLS website. The current median asking price for a home in Harpswell, according to Realtor.com, is nearly $1 million.
On Monday, the Maine Farmland Trust has 32 other Maine farm properties listed for sale or lease on its website.
A message to the Maine Farmland Trust was not immediately returned.