Progress report for ENC22-218
Project Information
For over two decades, the North Central Region has been a national leader in forming public policies to invest in beginning farmer/rancher (BFR) land access. States' innovations often incentivize landowners to choose a BFR as the next operator or owner of their farm or ranch. Each of these public policies is passed by a legislature and then generally interpreted and implemented by a lone manager working in rather isolated conditions. The target audience for this PDP will be these professional public servants who manage Land Access Policy Incentive (LAPI) programs out of state departments of agriculture or community development, finance authorities, or other public agencies. The purpose of the PDP is to reinforce a young, established Community of Practice made up of LAPI managers, and to augment the members' capacity by: (1) convening them for three in-person conferences and trainings, (2) extending their funding for facilitated virtual gatherings by one year, and (3) facilitating their transition to becoming a self-governing Community of Practice. Service to this network will lead to these outcomes: (1) learning leading to action: LAPI managers will bring innovations and improvements learned from their peers home to their states, strengthening their service to farmer/ranchers and landowners; (2) smoother new policy liftoff as more states introduce LAPIs; and (3) sustained motivation of LAPI leaders who become able to support one another and contribute to the land access movement as coordinated peers.
Products to be developed
The routine products the PDP develops will include a series of eight virtual meetings of the CoP and their agendas, meeting notes, and recordings. Conversations during these meetings will guide the development of public materials for the online Farmland Information Center for CoP members to use to promote their LAPI programs.
When the CoP meets in person, these gatherings will involve presentations to the NCOSAFP conferences by members of the CoP as well as NCOSAFP conference content tailored to the CoP. Programming produced will include:
- 2023: To continue to develop CoP members’ familiarity with the broader land access movement, we will provide an interactive seminar about the national land access and transfer curricula our PDP partners at American Farmland Trust have led since 2017. These hands-on tools focus on paths to land access and supporting soft skills needed during land transfer.
- 2024: A series of year-long facilitated conversations towards the process of becoming self-governing. We will focus year two of the PDP on transitioning the CoP into a self-sustaining model, and will prepare conference, meeting, and training content to serve this objective.
- 2025: An in person convening, with participation in the National Agricultural Lands Network Conference, and two conference sessions.
A final set of outputs will reflect the products of the CoP network. These outputs will involve the members’ interactions and dialogue with one another. The plans the members make to become self-governing will become a type of product that the PDP investment will create.
We expect the entire CoP to take part in the virtual meetings and in-person opportunities. At present the CoP has 11 members, and will add three members whose states have a new LAPI (Missouri, Ohio, Washington). The CoP will grow as more states add LAPIs and USDA continues to build its capacity to serve the country's Beginning Farmer/Ranchers.
Priority participants: CoP members
- State LAPIs:
- Easement incentives: Hilary Aten and Dan Schilling (WA), Jimmy Kroon (DE), Steve McHenry and Allison Roe (MD), Stephanie Shirk, Cheryl Cook and Neil Imes (PA)
- BFTCs: Tim Back (KY), Holle Evert (NE), Jessica Neff and Todd Thacker (OH), Jenny Heck (MN), Tammy Nebola and Nicki Howell (IA), Stephanie Shirk and Christine Jacoby (PA), Kate Haarmann and Jill Wood (MO)
- USDA: Sarah Campbell, Amanda Robertson, Cara McNab and their appointees
Cooperators
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor
- - Technical Advisor
Education
- Create a national Community of Practice made up of the public officials who manage state and federal Land Access Policy Incentives.
- Convene the Community of Practice for regular virtual and in-person gatherings to establish a coordinated peer network. The purpose of the network is to add value to the members' work in their home states facilitating sale and lease agreements between young, beginning, and historically underserved farmers and ranchers and small- and mid-sized landowners.
- Facilitate conversations among the Community of Practice to build a plan to sustain the network long term.
Education & Outreach Initiatives
To build a coordinated peer network of LAPI managers nationwide.
Quarterly virtual meetings of the CoP and annual convening in person.
We have assessed the CoP members' baseline measures and will be able to describe outcomes in our final PDP report.
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Learning Outcomes
Project Outcomes
- We have assessed baseline levels and will be able to report on outcomes in our final report.
- We convened and facilitated eight regular gatherings of the LAPI Community of Practice. These events attracted the participation a total of 35 unique individuals who run their states' LAPI programs, many of whom were regular attendees.
- We delivered two presentations to the National Council of State Agricultural Finance Programs, together with members of the Community of Practice.
"Seeing the results of what we all do is not something most of us get, it is so rewarding and important to see things full circle. I appreciate all the work you have done with the LAPI group and bringing together the CoP. There is so much value in sharing the successes and failures with those who are doing the same work, and the CoP group provides those valuable resources."
"Participation in the LAPI Community of Practice has helped us increase the profile of our program, support the program's investment to our state legislature, and describe the impacts and importance of our program's work within the bigger national picture of farm viability and food security."
"As “the doer” of the program, sometimes it’s easy to get lost in the weeds and feel overwhelmed by how much needs to be done. And let’s be real, it’s tough to keep up with everything going on around us while also trying to get the work out there. Your work has truly helped make the time and the resources come together for all the fantastic material produced, and I’ve learned so much from it. I’m personally super excited about the Results Summary, Survey Results, and Policy Spotlights – they’re already bookmarked in my browser. Once again, thank you and words can't quite express how much I admire your work."
Information Products
- Farm Purchase and Protection Incentives for Young and Beginner Farmers: Survey Results Summary
- States' Beginning Farmer Tax Credits: Participant Survey Results Summaries
- Bipartisan creation of US Land Access Policy Incentives: states’ efforts to support beginning farmers and resist farm consolidation and loss
- State Leaders Set Aside Differences to Support Land Access