Keeping Farmland in Agriculture By 2035, 40 of percent the farmland and ranchland in America's lower 48 states will be in the hands of new owners according to the American Farmland Trust's Farmland Information Center, a partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. As this generation of farmers begin to retire, the state and country’s farmland will change hands at rates that are unprecedented in US history. New tools are needed to connect farmland seekers and farmland sellers, assist new growers, and those expanding their operations. This is where Farmer 2 Farmer comes in. The Farmer 2 Farmer program provides a platform for farmland exchange within the NW Lower Michigan region.
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localdifference.org
BRIAN BOURDAGES
Farmer 2 Farmer Program Coordinator for NW Michigan
This program is presently designed to serve Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Benzie, Kalkaska and Antrim Counties. Across the country, similar programs designed to provide current information to both farmland seekers and sellers/ lessors are well established. These “farmlink” programs provide this critical matching service, while also assisting with everything from business planning to succession and estate planning services. You can find Farmer 2 Farmer online at www.f2fmi.com. In addition to land exchange, it also provides an area for jobs on area farms and in the region’s agricultural sector to be advertised. This resource is a result of the partnership between the Leelanau Conservancy, Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy, MSU Extension, and Taste The Local Difference. The program is continuously being improved, and there are hopes that the program will be expanded, or replicated to serve the state.
