October 2017 Update:
The new food sovereignty law is set to take effect November 1st. The Legislature needs to amend the law or the USDA will no longer allow the state to operate its own meat processing inspection program. (The state has to certify that the facilities it inspects meet federal safety guidelines, and the new law, as written, means the state can no longer do that.) Closing the state-licensed facilities would be a disaster for farmers at any time of year, but particularly hard in the fall. The Maine Farm Bureau has issued a legislative alert – read it here: Legislative Update re Food Sovereignty Law.