FARMINGTON – The University of Maine at Farmington will present “The Future of Farming in Maine and the Role of Farmland Preservation” at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the North Dining Hall of Olsen Student Center. The public is invited to attend.

John Piotti, executive director of Maine Farmland Trust and a state representative, is expected to give an overview of farming.

Geography students may ask for feedback on what Piotti thinks would be useful as they begin an agricultural inventory of the Sandy River Valley, said Matthew McCourt, UMF assistant professor of geography.

The meeting stems from a group that met in April at the West Farmington Grange Hall to explore ways to keep farmland in farming, McCourt said.

Another group met in August to continue the discussion. Wednesday’s meeting is a next step as classes explore the opportunities and challenges of local farming.

A map showing prime farmland along the Sandy River Valley will be undertaken. Students will try to characterize which land is being used for crops or hay or is fallow, as well as how much more prime farmland is available that isn’t being used, McCourt said.

Plans for students to meet with farmers, visit farms, observe how farmers work and take oral histories of how the farmers acquired their land and came in to farming are also being explored, he said.