Keeping Farmland in Agriculture

BRIAN BOURDAGES, Farmer 2 Farmer Program Coordinator for NW Michigan

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.

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.

If you are in the NW Lower MI region, please visit the Farmer 2 Farmer website to buy, sell, or lease agricultural land. If you are in other areas of the state, consider contacting the following organizations for assistance in finding farmland:

HEART OF THE LAKES CENTER FOR LAND CONSERVATION POLICY Heart of the Lakes is the membership and advocacy organization for the state’s land conservancies. Reach out to discuss your interest in purchasing land or for assistance with selling your farmland in a manner that continues agricultural use. You can find the land conservancy that serves your area on the Heart of the Lakes website at heartofthelakes.org.

YOUR LOCAL CONSERVATION DISTRICT Traditionally, Conservation Districts were primarily designed to provide services to the agricultural community in your district. Staff at your conservation district may be aware of land for sale or lease, or be able to suggest ways to advertise your land to growers looking to utilize it for agriculture.

YOUR COUNTY MSU EXTENSION OFFICE Staff at your county extension office are working on a daily basis with members of the agricultural community and may have local information related to your agricultural land needs. Express your interests and needs to them, and encourage them to support efforts to match farmland seekers with farmland sellers.

CONTACT FARMER 2 FARMER! The NW Lower MI Farmer 2 Farmer program recently received support to improve their program, part of which will be examining the potential to extend the reach of the program to other areas of the state. If you are interested in seeing this program, or a similar one, be available for your area of the state, please contact Brian Bourdages, Consultant, NW MI Food and Farming Network, Farmer 2 Farmer Program Coordinator. Brian can be reached at borgetc@gmail.com.