From a Purdue Extension Educator after participating in the Indiana Non-Kin Farm Transfer Stakeholder Meeting 11/15/2017: “Julia, Good program today… I really did not know what to expect in advance but I am pleased with the cross-section of attendees as well as their willingness to speak their minds and I have high hopes for some positive outcomes… This is an area of rapidly growing need and I am a bit embarrassed by Indiana’s reluctance to address it more proactively. I always appreciate the work that you and James do and the opportunity to work with/ support you.”
From a farm owner and ag lawyer after participating in the Indiana Non-Kin Farm Transfer Stakeholder Meeting 11/15/2017: “Thank you again for the informative session and collaboration opportunities afforded yesterday. It is an exciting opportunity to serve our clients while protecting the agricultural DNA of the state of Indiana.”
From a news article: “‘James and Julia are helping make Indiana a place where young farmers want to live and farm,’ said [the leader of] the Hoosier Young Farmers Coalition. ‘If we want more access to local food or more sustainable care of our farm land, we need to connect and strengthen our community of young farmers. More people will join that community — they will come home to Indiana to farm or decide to start farming here — if we have a way for them to find and access farmland.’ Farmer and Valliant are the lead researchers on a grant from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The project’s goal is for farms to continue functioning as farms, rather than being sold in pieces at auction or to a developer, said Valliant, a research associate at the Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at IU Bloomington. She said this can also help new farmers access land, which can be a challenge.” – https://news.iu.edu/stories/2017/11/iub/inside/06-land-transfer.html