Regenerative farmland transition: a new approach to teaching and empowering retiring farmers, landowners and beginning farmers

Commodities

Practices

Beginning farmers, retiring farmers and landowners across the Midwest lack pathways for successful non-familial land transfers, slowing rural economies, the adoption or continuation of regenerative farming practices, and impeding the growth of innovative farm businesses in those communities.

Land is most often purchased by farmers who already own significant land to leverage a purchase of more land, leading to consolidating farms. Data also shows that larger farming operations are less likely to use regenerative ag practices (Dunn, M. et al.). Innovative, hardworking beginning farmers lacking that leverage or the ability to secure a loan at the
pace of land sales are elbowed out, consistently reporting access to land is their number one barrier to farming.

This education project: Farmland transfer, a new approach to teaching retiring farmers, landowners and beginning farmers, will provide innovative curricula and 1:1 coaching, helping farmers apply what they've learned and filling gaps in traditional education methods to complete non-familial transfers of farms. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) is uniquely positioned to teach farmers new pathways for land sales and leases, building on our existing work with cover crop adoption, edge of field habitat work, and our existing farm transfer education. With nearly 10,000 members, we hold the capacity to protect farmland across the Midwest while supporting the beginning farmers. Retiring farmers regularly approach PFI seeking a connection with a beginning farmer, citing soil health and care for the land as their primary goals. However, nonfamilial matching is a complicated business. Successful nonfamilial transfers will require innovative approaches to develop successful farmers new skill sets. To teach farmers these skill sets, PFI proposes these outcomes:

1. Curriculum developed by PFI staff will teach retiring farmers, landowners and
   beginning farmers new ideas for nonfamilial land transfer.
2. Retiring farmers, landowners, and beginning farmers coached by experienced
   peers called Navigators will apply what they've learned to make land matches.
3. PFI staff will foster these matches with mediated sessions teaching communication
   skills and how to align goals with their match, providing legal services as needed
   to complete a written agreement.
4. Matched farmers share their experience with land transfers at conferences and webinars.

By the end of the project, 600 successful beginning farmers, retiring farmers and landowners will take steps toward preserving farms and contributing to the resiliency of local communities across the upper Midwest, and 180 will make initial matches by 2028.

Objective and Outcomes:

• 600 innovative farmers learn transfer models and financing strategies for land acquisition, particularly non-familial transfers.

• PFI staff hires and trains navigators to help 300 regenerative farmers identify their land transfer goals and create a plan with steps required to achieve them.

• 180 retiring farmers, landowners and beginning farmers make an initial land match.

• 40 matches learn communication strategies, and ways to have a fair, successful transfer in staff mediation sessions to complete a land transfer agreement.

• These farmers teach others in farmer-led conference sessions and webinars. New farmers change their farm transfer plans.