Conserved farmland access

Access to sufficient farmland is a top challenge for beginning and existing farmers. This project is working to improve access to farmland and provide more secure land tenure for farm seekers in Cheshire County New Hampshire.  

 Our approach in this project has been to work with landowners of conserved properties to successfully bring or keep farmers on their land. The goals of this project were to: learn more about the interests, concerns and needs of owners of conserved farmland; educate and support farm seekers, including about farming on conserved land; and bring these two groups together to pursue mutually beneficial land tenure agreements.  Methodology included creating an advisory committee, offering two focus groups, surveying farmers and conservation landowners, providing two educational workshops, offering one-on-one technical assistance, and creating case studies to be used in outreach to farmers and conservation landowners.  

Overall themes in working with Landowners and Farmer-Seekers

Landowners –

• A variety of desired uses for their land, with an overall desire for responsible long-term stewardship of it
• Interest in and openness to a collaboration with the farmer(s), without necessarily having a sense of the details of all that needs to be done with/to/for the land
• Potential willingness (and capacity) to fund/support more than a year-to-year relationship with the farmer(s)
• Desire for a system and structure for connecting with potential farmers
• Desire for a third party organization(s) willing to work with them on an on-going basis relative to this relationship

Farmers –

• A variety of desired uses for the land they work, with an overall desire for responsible long-term stewardship of it
• Interest in and openness to a collaboration with the landowner(s), without wanting them “in the weeds” relative to the details of the day-to-day farm operations
• Desire for more than a year-to-year relationship to build personal equity
• Desire for a system and structure for connecting with potential landowners
• Desire for a third party organization(s) willing to work with them on an on-going basis relative to this relationship

The following are the tips that the landowners and farmers shared when they were interviewed for the case studies:

Tips for Landowners:

• The search for a farmer takes time!  Don’t except to find the right match within a month or two.

• Word-of-mouth works.  Tell everyone you know what you are looking for farmers and be willing to talk to a variety of prospective farmers.

• Give up the need to micromanage.  If you are trying to manage the day-to-day activities, you should just hire a farm manager.

• Owners should think beyond economic benefits of leasing land since in many cases there will be little, if any, financial gain from the arrangement.

• Be open-minded and don’t be afraid to think big!

• Constantly talk about what is working, what isn’t, and where you both see the direction of the farm going.  Keep an open dialogue, especially in the beginning of the relationship.

• Understand the realities of farming—it’s dirty, smelly, and unpredictable!

Tips for Farmers:

• Think about what the land can do for you, not what you can do for the land.

• Don’t underestimate the importance of proximity and the availability of equipment and infrastructure.

• It is helpful to find landowners who are realistic about the economic realities of farming (very slim margins).

• Be open-minded and don’t be afraid to think big!

• Constantly talk about what is working, what isn’t, and where you both see the direction of the farm going.  Keep an open dialogue, especially in the beginning of the relationship.

• Farmers should remain true to their word and be ready to be flexible.

Outreach was accomplished through social media, websites and a presentation at an annual New Hampshire land conservation meeting.

Introduction:

Over the last several decades, active farmland in New Hampshire has decreased by an alarming 50%. At the same time, the National Young Farmers Coalition (2012) and American Farm Bureau Federation (2013) report that access to land is a top challenge for beginning farmers. Surging interest in increasing regional food system capacity has led groups such as New Hampshire’s Food System Planning Team and the regional Food Solutions New England to prioritize expanded production. This means more land and more farmers.

For this to occur, farmers need improved access to good farmland. In 2008, with USDA/NESARE support, Cheshire County Conservation District (CCCD) conducted interviews with farmers in Cheshire County, NH. Sixty-three percent of interviewees stated that a lack of sufficient access to land is a leading barrier to expanding production. Qualitative feedback from farmers in the region corroborates this. Many farmers—especially those starting out—can’t afford to buy a farm. For them, leasing is a desirable—and often the only—solution.

There are considerable challenges with bringing farmers and landowners together, and to building strong lease agreements between them. The challenge is as much about finding, preparing and supporting landowners as it is supporting farmers. In NH there are many private non-farming agricultural landowners. Some landowners do not know there is a need for their land, others are interested in making their property available for farming but lack the tools to do so effectively, and still more harbor misconceptions that prevent them from making their land available. In addition, where handshake or written agreements exist, they typically lack the strength and clarity needed to provide security and protection to both parties.

One landowner category that we believe is most amenable to making their land available for farming, or to improving farming tenure, is owners of land encumbered by conservation easements. As a group, these landowners have demonstrated an appreciation for the public benefits of their properties’ natural resources, and they are not planning future development. By working with land trusts (typically the easement holder), they have demonstrated openness to partnership and collaboration. Because conservation easements are still seen as unconventional, these landowners are frequently innovators. Yet, much of this conserved and agriculturally capable land is not in active agriculture. For example, the Monadnock Conservancy holds approximately 45 conservation easements on land with agricultural potential, ranging from properties with prime soil suitable for crops to open fields suitable for livestock pasture, yet less than one quarter of these properties is used for active agricultural, either by the owner or by a lessee. 

This presents an enormous opportunity to make more land more available and secure for farming in NH by improving current lease agreements as well as working with these landowners on building interest and capacity to bring more conserved agricultural land into production. The implications from lessons learned in doing this well are far-reaching, as the issues of increased agricultural capacity, food system resilience, and farmland access are being actively engaged in every New England state, and beyond.

The challenge of affordable access to good farmland for established and beginning farmers is complex. It requires an innovative, systems-focused team of collaborating organizations reaching out to farm seekers and landowners. CCCD will partner with the Monadnock Conservancy (MC), a private non-profit land trust that works to conserve land in Cheshire County, and Land For Good (LFG), a New England-wide organization specializing in farmland access. LFG is headquartered in Keene, Cheshire County’s largest city and county seat. MC’s emerging top priority to conserve agricultural lands and viable local food systems has led it to strengthen its partnership with CCCD. CCCD focuses on the conservation and responsible use of natural resources and working landscapes.

This project will build from LFG’s Land Access Project, which identified and educated non-farming landowners. We learned that many—particularly those with conservation values—could be engaged with adequate information and support. Our unique approach in this proposed project is to work with landowners of conserved properties. We are not aware of any initiative that specifically helps this audience successfully bring or keep farmers on their land. The goals of this project are to: learn more about the interests, concerns and needs of owners of conserved farmland; educate and support farm seekers, including about farming on conserved land; and bring these two groups together to pursue mutually beneficial land tenure agreements.

By gathering information from landowners with conservation easements we will get greater understanding of their awareness, concerns and questions around the issue of making land available to farmers. This information will have wide relevance for the land conservation and farming communities. We will bring technical assistance and support to at least 20 owners of eased properties, and to farm seekers.

We will work with farm seekers to identify opportunities on conserved land in the region and offer educational resources on what it means to farm on conserved land as well as demystify conservation easements. The landowners will be provided with resources and education on making their land available for farming.  They will be exposed to benefits such as land management that meets their stewardship goals, a regular stream of revenue, increased local food production, providing an opportunity to a new farmer or farm family, and keeping their working landscape open and in production. 

Participating farmers and landowners will have an increased understanding of lease options, how to develop strong leases and other tenure agreements. All involved will also gain a better understanding of the stewardship opportunities offered by management plans through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. CCCD will work one-on-one with individuals to sign them up for appropriate programs that will help them achieve their land management and production goals. 

Overall this innovative project will make the region more productive and attractive for established and start-up farmers. In addition, we anticipate acquiring data and learning techniques that may in the future help other land trusts make their conserved properties more available to farming, as the Monadnock Conservancy is now seeking to do.