In early January, we wrote about the co-existence event at the Maine Agricultural Trades Show, which brought together both organic and conventional farmers to discuss how the two practices can work together to feed the world.

The Maine Biotechnology Information Bureau was on hand for the standing-room only event that addressed issues including pesticide use, food production and the environment. “We have to increase production with lower environmental costs,” said keynote speaker Jonathan Foley, director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota.  Click here to read MBIB’s recap of the event and to hear from farmers on both sides of the issue.

Jon Olson, Executive Secretary of the Maine Farm Bureau, also provided an interesting perspective in an op-ed published in the Kennebec Journal last week. He writes, “Farmers in Maine are fed up with the controversy and are quietly talking among themselves, looking for ways to move beyond the divide. Collaboration is replacing confrontation, for the benefit of all Maine farmers.”