PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 26, 2024
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Friday more than $4 million in grants and a loan guarantee to advance solar and heat pump projects in Maine. Vilsack joined Gov. Janet Mills, U.S. Sen. Angus King and U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree at a ceremony at the Brunswick Farmers Market to celebrate Maine’s agricultural industry and the small farms that power it. Vilsack touted the federal program as an effort to help family farms cut costs. Vilsack, a former governor of Iowa, said federal agriculture policy aims to develop “climate smart” practices that help reduce farms’ energy costs and seek to spur market demand for sustainably made products.