Donald Sussman donates $5M North Haven farm to conservation group
Courtesy / Turner Farm, Amy Peterson
Turner Farm, a historic, working farm on North Haven Island, has been donated to the American Farmland Trust.
Turner Farm, a historic, 153-acre organic farm on North Haven Island, has been donated by philanthropist Donald Sussman to the American Farmland Trust, a national conservation group.
The trust plans to continue operating the property, which has a tax valuation of $4.7 million, as a working farm, according to a news release Saturday.
Turner Farm produces certified organic vegetables, herbs and flowers, as well as pasture-raised beef and pork, according to its website. Sussman is an investor and hedge fund manager who owned MaineToday Media, the parent company of the Portland Press Herald, from 2012-15. He purchased the farm in 2008, and since then it has been undergoing restoration, the trust said.
“American Farmland Trust is not only truly appreciative of this generous gift, but honored to have an opportunity to play a key role in sustaining an island community," the trust's president and CEO, John Piotti, told Mainebiz by email.
He said the farm is operating well and that the trust will work to enhance that success.
"American Farmland Trust focuses actively on promoting better farming practices, especially regenerative practices that rebuild soil health and help combat climate change. To that end, we will try to move a well-run operation to be model operation of best practices."
For several years, Sussman had leased the farm to independent operators, and it comes to the trust with a lease-holder in place for the rest of the year, according to Piotti. In the future, the trust may consider leasing it to an employee. Turner Farm currently has a staff of 10.
The farm, at Fish Point on the southern side of the island, dates to 1784 and was operated by the Thomas and Turner families for 200 years. During the 19th century the farm was the largest of dozens on the Penobscot Bay island, producing wheat, corn, potatoes and livestock.
From 1984 until Sussman’s 2008 purchase of the farm, it was used as a summer estate.
In the 1970s, Turner Farm was the site of an archaeological dig that unearthed artifacts as old as 7,000 years.
“Native people have been living on this piece of land long before European settlers arrived in Maine,” Piotti said. “The historical significance of this land is foremost in our minds as we plan for its future.”
The American Farmland Trust, based in Washington, D.C., is the only national conservation organization dedicated to protecting farmland, promoting environmentally sound farming practices and keeping farmers on the land, according to the group's website. Since 1980, the trust has helped to permanently protect more than 6.8 million acres of farmland and ranchland.
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