Glenda Pereira: 00:00
Ready? Welcome to the Maine Farmcast, folks. Thanks for joining us here live at the Maine Agricultural Trade Show. I am one of your hosts, Dr. Glenda Pereira. I work for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and I’m an assistant professor in the School of Food and Ag.
Glenda Pereira: 00:52
And I am joined by the introduction on the guitar was our cohost, Dr. Colt Knight, who is the livestock specialist. Colt, that was beautiful. And I am sorry that we had so many technical difficulties, but we made it work.
Colt Knight: 01:06
I knew we should have brought this full studio system down. Glenda talked me into bringing the portable setup. This is what happens.
Glenda Pereira: 01:12
You’re right.
Colt Knight: 01:13
We try new things.
Glenda Pereira: 01:15
We tried, and we’ve taken this portable system on the road before and it worked without a hitch. It just didn’t want to work for us.
Colt Knight: 01:23
It worked up in the bleachers, but as soon as we got down here to this main stage, it just refused.
Glenda Pereira: 01:28
Yeah. Well, so I mentioned this already, but if you’re here at the Ag Trade Show, be sure to come listen to us live here at the main stage. And we have an awesome speaker here with us today. And I said to Commissioner Beale earlier that our second famous, what I would consider famous, speaker. So the first was Dr. Hannah Carter. And now we have Commissioner Beal joining us today from the Maine Department of Ag.
Colt Knight: 01:55
And third, we had the vice president of the Maine … on.
Glenda Pereira: 01:59
That’s true. Yeah. So I guess let’s say Maine famous people is what we’ll consider that because Hannah’s from Maine, Amanda’s from Maine.
Colt Knight: 02:09
Glenda excluded.
Glenda Pereira: 02:10
Yes. And so we have Commissioner Beal on the podcast today. And I just wanted to give a chance for you to introduce yourself, Commissioner Beale, and then tell us about your role here at the Maine Department of Ag.
Amanda Beal: 02:25
Well, thank you so much, and thank you everyone for being here at the Ag Trade Show. It’s been a great couple of days. And we’ve got more, louder, okay.
Glenda Pereira: 02:36
Closer to the mic.
Amanda Beal: 02:37
Yeah, so we’ve got a lot of great sessions going on here all the way through tomorrow. We have all kinds of different groups of producer meetings and organizations that support agriculture. Our department is putting on a number of really great sessions. So I’m glad to see you all on the floor here, but I hope you’re also popping into some of those sessions and hearing from some of the great speakers that are here. And so my role here, well, my role every day is as the commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which is a great honor.
Amanda Beal: 03:12
It is really just such a wonderful, wonderful opportunity that I’ve had to work with farmers all over the state, work with a really dynamic team at the department. We also do a lot of work, obviously, in forestry and with our state parks and public lands. But for me, I grew up on a dairy farm not very far from here, just over in Litchfield. So there was really no getting away from farming because it’s something I’m really passionate about, and so that’s how I ended up here. And here at the trade show, I’m here, I’ve been introducing different sessions.
Amanda Beal: 03:47
We had a luncheon yesterday that I hosted along with my team, and I’m just here to really talk to folks and see what’s on their minds and how we can do the work that we do even better and make sure we’re addressing the needs of farmers and others in agriculture in our state.
Glenda Pereira: 04:06
Yeah, thank you. And I just wanted to highlight as well that for the year of 2025 and ’26, you were elected as the president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. So congratulations. It’s an honor to have our state commissioner be a part of that. And so can you give us a little insight into what that looks like to be the president of the National Association of State Departments?
Amanda Beal: 04:31
Sure. So for those who are just hearing about this organization, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, or NASDA, I will say for short because that’s long. It’s a bipartisan organization. All of the state departments of agriculture across the country belong to this organization. We’re all members, and we work together through this organization on issues that are of common concern.
Amanda Beal: 04:58
And we meet a couple of times a year in person, but we’re really connected all the time. And in fact, I will be hosting an all member call today. I do that monthly with all 50 states, and I will be standing up there later and sort of kicking off that call and making sure everybody can see what we’re doing here at the trade show, that we’ve got this great event happening as we all come together. But in my role at NASDA, it’s really an honor. If you had asked me seven years ago when I started this job if I thought I would become the president of a national organization like that, I would have said no way.
Amanda Beal: 05:35
But it turns out that people really appreciate what we are doing here in Maine, and we’ve had a lot of support through that organization for some of the big issues we’ve been working on here, PFAS being one of them. We really are leading the nation with that issue, so we’ve been able to lend a lot of expertise to our fellow states and state departments of agriculture around the country who are just starting to sort of get into that realm of work. But we work very well with everyone across the country. It’s a great organization, and I’m really proud that I get to play a leadership role for this year. And even more so, I’m really excited that what it means for Maine is that the entire national meeting for NASDA, the annual meeting, will be here in Maine in September, and we get to highlight all of the great things that are happening here and really show people what makes Maine so special.
Amanda Beal: 06:31
So really looking forward to that.
Glenda Pereira: 06:33
Yeah, thank you for representing the state of Maine. That’s fantastic. And then additionally, I know some of the initiatives that you’ve been working on as commissioner for this year are going to be announced soon or soon to be announced. And something that we wanted to highlight was the theme for the, excuse me, I don’t know the correct term, but the governor’s theme for agriculture for the year. Would you mind elaborating on that?
Amanda Beal: 06:58
Sure.
Amanda Beal: 06:58
So recently the United Nations designated 2026 as the international year of the woman farmer. And so in the US here, there are a number of national organizations that are embracing that, from NASDA to the American Farm Bureau, the National Young Farmers Coalition, American Farmland Trust, National Farmers Union. I could go on and on and on, but there’s a really big coalition of organizations that are looking forward to spotlighting women in agriculture and the contributions that they bring, as well as some of the challenges that they face. And not just farmers, but all of agriculture. And so I think what you’ll see nationally and what you’ll see here in the state of Maine, as the governor has just signed a proclamation making 2026 the year of women farmers in Maine.
Amanda Beal: 07:54
We’re probably going to be celebrating more broadly than farmers and more looking at women in agriculture and women who support agriculture in Maine. So really excited about that. And I will say that 2025 was recognized as the year of youth in agriculture in Maine. And our department, we did a number of things to recognize young people and really lift up their voices. It was really, really successful.
Amanda Beal: 08:22
We’re not done lifting up the voices of young people, so we can celebrate everybody. We can multitask, and we plan to do that.
Glenda Pereira: 08:29
Yeah. And on the podcast, actually, Colt is planning to interview some of the young farmers that we have, and I just saw them walk in. I just saw Sierra.
Colt Knight: 08:38
He was going to ambush them here on stage.
Glenda Pereira: 08:40
So we’ll be highlighting some of the youth. So yes, thank you for those continued efforts. So I’m curious to know, you’ve worn many hats before your role here as the commissioner. Can you tell us about how your role has evolved in Maine? So you mentioned at the beginning you grew up as a dairy farm kid, and then you worked at Maine Farmland Trust.
Glenda Pereira: 09:04
And so tell us about how your role has evolved and potentially how each of those stepping stones led you to be ready to be our fearless leader as the commissioner of ag.
Amanda Beal: 09:15
Yeah, well, I really have to go back to my origin story. I mean, I grew up on a farm, and I feel so grateful to have had that upbringing, to grow up on a farm. It’s not, I mean, everyone here knows farming is not just a job. It’s a lifestyle. It is something that you embrace.
Amanda Beal: 09:34
Our families who farm here in Maine, it is multigenerational. And I just really loved waking up in the morning and going to the barn, and I loved doing chores, and it taught me a lot about having a strong work ethic. And you just don’t quit because it’s 05:00, you keep working. And I love this job because I’m reminded constantly of how hard farmers work, and that motivates me to work hard and make sure that we’re doing everything that we can to be supportive of agriculture in this state. I did work at Maine Farmland Trust, but before that, I actually was very involved, and it’s so hard for me to say this, twenty five years ago, I was working in sort of the early stages of farm to school and local food, connecting farmers with consumers through farmers markets and all kinds of other venues like that.
Amanda Beal: 10:30
And so I was able to work in the public health realm, but focus on that kind of work. So I was working with schools and communities, and it was really rewarding. And so then went on and did some more education and then ended up working at Maine Farmland Trust as a policy director and then moved on to being president and CEO. Great, just great organization. I’ve also had a lot of opportunities to serve on different boards related to agriculture throughout the state.
Amanda Beal: 11:03
I’ve always appreciated that opportunity. And that’s one of the things that I say to young people, if there are any young people listening. I really think that getting involved in boards and finding opportunities to volunteer for organizations in Maine that are doing good agricultural work, it’s such a great networking and skills development opportunity. So I really encourage people to do that. But yeah, and then here I am.
Amanda Beal: 11:28
I’m commissioner of the department, and that’s sort of the road that I took to get here. I didn’t know I would end up here, but really grateful to be here.
Glenda Pereira: 11:36
Yeah. And was there a defining moment in that career path where you said, this is sort of the road I’m on, and maybe what motivated you to continue to pursue something like this role? And talking, you know, giving some advice. This was great advice to give to folks, to say, hey, get involved. But is there any advice you would give to your younger self that you’ve reflected on to kind of, I guess, help you be in this role today? And I know that’s a loaded question and I didn’t prepare you for that, but I always like to know, so then our youth here can maybe potentially utilize that to benefit their career in the future.
Amanda Beal: 12:28
Yeah. Well, I know, I am certain that we have future commissioners walking around the floor here. I met some of them. They’re so passionate about agriculture. And the one thing that I say whenever I talk to young people, and I love having the opportunity to do so, is make sure that as you are making choices about your path, as you move forward in your career, do what makes you really excited to get up in the morning. And don’t say no to hard things.
Amanda Beal: 12:54
Say yes to hard things and really just make sure that you’re following your passion. Don’t worry if you feel like you’re going off on a sort of side road, or you might have a goal in mind, but if something comes along that is really worth doing and you’re excited about it, do it. And at some point in your life, all of these paths, all of these experiences will come together and they will make you uniquely qualified to do whatever comes before you. And just trust that that’s all going to work out. And so that’s what I’ve done, and that’s what I recommend to young people as well.
Glenda Pereira: 13:31
I completely agree. And so I have to ask this question now. Were you on the pre vet track ever as well? Because all of our guests that we tend to have, Colt and myself included, we all had this path sort of early on to the path to vet school. And then, you know, there was this opportunity to do research and to do an internship at a research experiment with a research study, and then it changed our entire trajectory.
Colt Knight: 13:59
Or just not take organic chemistry.
Glenda Pereira: 14:01
Yes, that’s true. Yes, the chemistry will get you as well, but I’m just curious.
Amanda Beal: 14:08
Yeah, I think if you’re really following your passion, you’re following your own path, you’re going to wind up where you’re meant to be.
Glenda Pereira: 14:15
Yeah, yeah. So yeah, and I’m sorry, I should have asked. Yes, pre vet track or no?
Amanda Beal: 14:19
No, no, no. And you know what, I’ll also share something really funny because you had asked how did I end up in this position. I wasn’t aiming to become commissioner, not consciously. But after I was confirmed for this position, my father said to me, you know, when you were 19, you said someday maybe I’d like to be the commissioner of agriculture in the state of Maine. I have no recollection of that comment, none. But he remembered and he told me that. So somewhere in there, I guess I thought this might be a good role to be in.
Glenda Pereira: 14:52
That’s incredible. And the fact that he remembered that and then kind of reminded you of that, you know. And so congratulations. And that’s a really nice memory to think back on. So I’m sure he’s incredibly proud, and I know your family, of course, as well. Yeah.
Glenda Pereira: 15:09
So I wanted to just give some space to allow you to talk about the uniqueness of Maine’s agriculture and maybe even livestock production. So Colt and I, dairy and livestock, so that’s our focus area. But we have guests talk about any type of farming here on the Maine Farmcast. I just wanted to highlight and maybe give you a chance to talk about the uniqueness of Maine and then maybe some sort of tradition. So I’m not a Mainer.
Glenda Pereira: 15:38
I mean, I’m learning. So I’ve been here for four years, but I’m learning about the traditions and the ways of farming in Maine. But what makes Maine unique? And is there a tradition or something that we could highlight? And I know this morning we already highlighted wild blueberries.
Glenda Pereira: 15:54
So that was a good breakfast staple, but I’m sure there was dairy in there because it was a smoothie. So dairy was represented. But yeah, tell us more about Maine’s unique agricultural products.
Amanda Beal: 16:06
Yeah, well, what’s really unique about Maine, I think, is that we have our Maine commodities. We have potatoes and wild blueberries and dairy, and we make a lot of maple syrup and we do a lot of things. I mean, when you really look at Maine agriculture across the board, it’s very diverse. It’s very diverse. And so we do a lot of things really well.
Amanda Beal: 16:28
And the other thing that makes us unique, and this is again why I’m excited to serve as the president of the board of NASDA, I get to talk about this at the national and even international level, that yes, Maine is a state predominantly of small producers, but small is mighty. And we really do have a lot to offer here. And it’s so exciting for me when I go around the state. I’m sure you know this. If you look at the calendar of agricultural events, starting with Maine Maple Sunday weekend in the spring, the early spring, all the way through to the fall and our agricultural fairs and open farm day and open creamery day and all the different events that we have. You can be on the road every single week, and I often am, and it’s such a great way to get around the state.
Amanda Beal: 17:21
It’s such a great way to meet our farmers, to thank them for the work that they do, and to really hear the story behind every farm. It’s so fascinating when you get to know every different farm, every family, what it’s taken for them to start a farm, to have a farm that’s lasted for generations, or for new farmers to just be getting up on their feet. These stories are really, really, they’re all different, but they’re all really interesting. And it helps to understand better what really makes up agriculture across the state. You can taste lots of great food while you’re out there.
Amanda Beal: 18:00
I often do. I love to get out there and try all the different things that people are making, some really good value added products also. And then as far as livestock goes, I grew up on a dairy farm, as I said. We started out with the typical Holsteins, but as my father kind of got going, he thought, I think I really like the idea of these milking shorthorns. And he transitioned his herd, and he felt like, yeah, they don’t produce quite as much milk, but they’re a pretty hardy breed.
Amanda Beal: 18:31
And so what I don’t have to pay in vet bills, maybe there’s some kind of a balance there. And I see other farmers across the state trying different breeds, trying to figure out what works for them. And I think that’s great. And even the kids I talk to in 4 H, they’re so educated and they’re looking around and asking good questions and thinking about what are the differences between different breeds of livestock and what do I want to focus on? What do I need to know to be a good steward of this particular breed or type of livestock or whatnot?
Amanda Beal: 19:07
And so yeah, I think that there’s a lot of good knowledge out there and people doing different things and always willing to share and teach and learn from one another. And I think that’s also a real strength here in Maine.
Glenda Pereira: 19:21
Yeah, and I won’t go into the details, but the state of Maine actually had a lot of original and foundational herds that established a lot of the breeds, Holstein being one of them. And we still have a lot of those herds here today. And I just think that’s so special. So I’m biased to the dairy industry and to the dairy breeds, but Maine was foundational in establishing a lot of the current pedigrees that we have for Holstein and for other breeds as well. If folks know the Jersey breed as well, there was a really famous bull, Highland Duncan, from Highland Farms over in Standish or Cornish.
Glenda Pereira: 20:00
Libby will get me for that. But just to highlight that, you know, Maine was foundational in a lot of those aspects. So I wanted to just highlight something else and give you an opportunity to talk about what do you think the Maine agricultural industry is going to be looking like in the next five to ten years? And potentially what are some of the programs, and you’ve mentioned some of them, that the Department of Ag is focusing on to support the Maine agricultural community.
Amanda Beal: 20:29
Yeah, that’s a great question. Well, there’s no question about the fact that we have been seeing a lot of extreme weather events. There’s a lot about our seasons that aren’t as predictable as they once were. And that’s sort of another layer of complexity that our farmers are trying to navigate. So we’ve been really focused on what kind of programs we can put in place to help farmers be prepared and be more resilient in the face of some of these challenging weather events and climate change in general.
Amanda Beal: 21:01
And so two programs that we’ve been able to get stood up recently within the last few years. One is a drought resilience program, a drought relief program, where we are able to work with farmers who need to produce or want to produce water management plans for their farms and to be thinking about what will make them more resilient to drought and actually providing some cost share funding for things like irrigation ponds and drilling new wells and things like that. But working really hand in hand with some technical expertise.
Amanda Beal: 21:37
Another program that we have set up is a healthy soils program. And so we’re working with a cohort of farmers that are implementing new practices to try to build soil health. Hopefully it will make it more resilient, make their soil more resilient in the face of extreme storms and things like that. And so that’s another way that we’re going at it. But the other thing that I think we really need to work on, we’ve been working on and we can do more with, is market access.
Amanda Beal: 22:06
And that’s in state local access with institutions and just making sure that people in Maine can easily get Maine grown food. They don’t have to go looking for it. It’s readily available. There’s opportunities at the regional level. There are opportunities beyond that.
Amanda Beal: 22:24
There are some producers that will be ready for those further afield when things come up. But I think that we can work across the board to support farmers and producers and value added producers as well in accessing new markets that are really well suited for their particular operation.
Glenda Pereira: 22:47
Yeah, and potentially with some of the work that you’ve done early on in your career with connecting consumers to food and communities in that aspect, I think that could really come to fruition with the experience you have there. And that’s something I just wanted to note. A plug in for the Maine Healthy Soils Program. I believe there will be another grant funding round, and I believe those grants are due in April. So for folks thinking about applying to that grant, be thinking about your projects right now, and then look up on the website. I can’t remember the exact link, but if you look up Maine Healthy Soils Program, you’ll find the request for applications there. And then you can submit your grant application and reach out to an agriculture service provider that can potentially review your grant application.
Glenda Pereira: 23:35
But I worked with a farmer last year. They were able to submit a grant application and then receive the grant, and they’re looking forward to working with the state of Maine and the folks there to improve their soil health program. So yeah, just a plug in for that.
Amanda Beal: 23:50
And I should say, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that the drought relief program, we have a round of, we’re accepting applications right now. It’s our second round of funding that we’re getting ready to distribute. So the application process is open right now through the end of the month, and I actually think into February. But if you go onto our website, you can find that information readily or just call us at the department and we’ll point you right to it.
Glenda Pereira: 24:18
Awesome. And so the last thing I wanted to mention was, was there anything we didn’t talk about today that you’d like to mention or leave our listeners with? I always just like to leave this as an open ended question for you because I get to ask all the questions, but I’d like to just give you the chance to mention anything we haven’t touched on.
Amanda Beal: 24:39
Yeah, I mean, I think another strength that we have in this state in Maine is just all the organizations that are working on agriculture, and we work so well together. University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Maine Farmland Trust, the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, the Maine Farm Bureau, you name it. I could go on and on and on. And we are always looking for ways to collaborate in service to agriculture in Maine. And so that’s been a wonderful part of being in this role, is just being able to work with folks like you and really appreciate the partnership.
Glenda Pereira: 25:14
Yeah, certainly. So thank you so much, Commissioner Beal. That was fantastic. We are going to take questions right after here as we wrap up our program. I think we’ll have a few minutes for questions if you have those.
Glenda Pereira: 25:27
But for folks listening, if you have future topics, suggestions, or questions for Colt and I and the Maine Farmcast, be sure you can email us at extension.farmcast@maine.edu. And with that, Colt, take us home.