Key Components of a Successful Negotiation

Commodities

Practices

Retiring farms wishing to pass their land to the next generation encounter many challenges.   According to research by USDA and American Farmland Trust, 42% of farmland will change hands in the next decade, yet 60% of farmers have not identified an heir. SARE-funded research reveals that 39% of farmers without heirs would prefer to pass their land to a non-relative farmer over liquidation even if they would make less money. Further, farmers consider farm link programs effective in showcasing available land, but note the programs’ lack of support services and few long-term matches. To keep farmland in cultivation, there is an urgent need for farm link programs that provide the services, tools, and information retiring and beginning farmers need to make their land transfer goals successful. 

MIFarmLink, a Washtenaw County Conservation District (WCCD) program, and Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) will collaborate with farmers and technicians to identify common issues that hold up land transfer deals in Michigan, and which resources would be most useful to farmers wishing to acquire or pass on farms/farmland. Tools will include educational videos, presentations, content for ongoing farmer and technician training, and a compendium of land transfer resources on MIFarmLink.com. 

• Create farmer survey about land transfer obstacles
• Administer survey; analyze and report results
• Host stakeholder focus group about land transfer struggles
• Distribute research results via newsletters, trainings, social media, and partners
• Produce and distribute series of short educational videos outlining strategies for overcoming obstacles to land transfer
• Develop list of information resources relevant to issues impeding farmland transfer identified in project research
• Host farmer Meet and Greet to promote relationship building between retiring and beginning farmers  
• Present research results at conferences and partner events in MI 
• Add project videos, information resources, earned media, and research report to MIFarmLink.com