Land access is a prime challenge to farmers, particularly new and beginning farmers. Ninety percent of the 20,000 landowners that lease out active farmland in New England are non-farmers. Non-farming landowners play a crucial role in supporting secure land tenure and food security in this region. Land For Good, together with the New England Farm Link Collaborative’s (NEFLC), recently hosted the Make Your Land Available for Farming webinar series for non-farming landowners addressing this need. We directly connected with more than fifty interested landowners in our region to provide them with tools and information about how to support farming on their farmland.
In three sessions, participants learned why making their land available is so important, how to evaluate what their land has to offer, and different mechanisms (including leasing and other agreements) to support farming on their land. They also had the chance to interact with a live panel of non-farming landowners and farmers to learn more about their land lease experiences. In an end-of-course evaluation, 100% of survey respondents said they would recommend this course to others.
“Thank you for this seminar. The resources and guidelines were great. It was very helpful and thought-provoking to hear from landowners and farmers in the final session.”
Webinar Participant
Participants are now better prepared to assess their land’s potential, make their offering attractive to farmers, and create a lease or other tenure agreement that benefits all parties while strengthening agriculture in New England. The NEFLC hopes to offer this webinar series annually.
Looking for assistance now?
Watch the recordings of our 2022 webinar series archived on our YouTube Channel:
- Part 1: Introduction to Making Your Land Available for Farming
- Part 2: Methods for Making Your Land Available
- Part 3: Live Panel
Check out the wealth of free resources in our Toolbox for Landowners. Familiarize yourself with New England Farm Finder, our regional clearinghouse for posting farmland. Farm seekers recognize this as a “one stop shop” when searching for land opportunities. For one-on-one support, connect with New England Farm Link Collaborative members in your state: Connecticut – Connecticut FarmLink, Maine – Maine FarmLink, Vermont – Vermont Land Link, all six New England states – Land For Good.
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Make Your Land Available for Farming webinar series is part of the Land for Farmers project, supported by Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program grant #2021-49400-35642 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
