http://www.kjonline.com/Heres-a-fruity-idea.html
Posted: March 31
Updated: Today at 12:12 AM
Heres a fruity idea
Grow oranges in Maine, group says
By Mechele Cooper mcooper@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer
The Maine Orange Growers Association is not an April Fools Day joke.
JUICED: The Maine Orange Growers Association assembles for meetings at the Liberal Cup in Hallowell to extol the virtues of the citrus.
Members are, from left to right: Dan Davis; Tim MacMillan; Leo Fecteau and Jim Laptewicz.
Staff photo by Andy Molloy
At least, thats what its members say.
Tim MacMillan, president of the association, said his group is legitimate. A state engineer, MacMillan said the orange industry is due for exponential growth in the coming years because of global warming.
He said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Maines average temperature could increase 4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, bringing more extreme summer heat to Maine.
While this is great news to our industry, Im not sure we can wait that long to realize these benefits, MacMillan said. MOGA must be at the forefront in developing strategies to speed this process up. This topic and more will be discussed at our next meeting, on April 12.
The meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Liberal Cup tavern in Hallowell. He said the meeting is open to the public.
Ned Porter, deputy commissioner of the Maine Agriculture Department, said Maine Orange Growers Association is a tongue-in-cheek organization.
We dont do anything with oranges. Its not a crop we work with, Porter said. I think this story should run on April 1.
Russell Libby, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association, agreed. He said he had no knowledge of the group, but did find its Facebook page.
It seems to be a very socially oriented group, Libby said. Ill leave you to your own interpretations; but I think the story, at least for now, should be running on Thursday, April 1.
MacMillan, of Winthrop, said the association has 15 members and maintains a Facebook account where the minutes of their meetings are displayed and people can interact.
Were trying to get ourselves out there and let people know we are in existence, he said. Something we hope to do as a grassroots organization is to get growers and producers on board. We hope to promote all our orange-growing activities within the state.
MacMillan said the trade association officially formed in August 2009. He said it represents a unified voice of dedicated producers and consumers for Maine-grown oranges.
He said the group is developing connections and bringing on board any Maine processors, packers, extractors, brokers and marketers of juice beverages, fruit jams, jellies and preserves and similar products, as well as industry suppliers and food testing laboratories.
MacMillan said he plans to buy some land and become an orange grower.
Were in the process of getting trees from Florida for some of our producers, he said.
David Breau, of Augusta, a state engineer and the associations treasurer, said he joined the organization because the idea of oranges grown in Maine sounded worthwhile.
Were just trying to get our foot in the door early on, Breau said. We are certainly going to be looking into it. If the global warming occurs like weve been hearing, I think this is a possibility in the future at some point.
MacMillan said Maine couldnt be in a better position to take advantage of ideal soil conditions, decreasing winds, fewer rainfall events and warmer overall temperatures from global warming.
While the production of Maine-grown oranges will be small, MacMillian said the group hopes consumers will some day demand Maine-grown oranges.
Mechele Cooper 623-3811, ext. 408
mcooper@centralmaine.com 
