Farmers, ranchers and agricultural managers are in the occupation with by far the highest median age, at 56.8 years. This is more than two years older than any other job. Almost a third of all agricultural producers are 65 or older and own 40%, or 370 million acres, of the country’s agricultural land. The aging farming population indicates the impending wave of land transfer. How and to whom they transfer their land will have an enormous impact on the next generation of farmers and ranchers and the opportunities available to them. Regional food systems, local economies and climate change solutions all depend on a new generation’s ability to access and steward the land well.
Most of the farms that make up northern Michigan’s landscape are family farms. They are loved, cared for and central to the identity of the communities they are part of. They can also contain multiple conservation values, including scenic views, water quality protection and wildlife habitat. But much of this land has and could continue to be lost to agricultural production, unless we can find a way to get it into the hands of the next generation of farmers.
For this reason, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) has placed an emphasis on preserving our local farmland. As a land trust, we are uniquely positioned to help facilitate successful land transfer.
GTRLC has protected thousands of acres of farmland in our region and is actively working to protect more. Land that has been permanently protected with an agricultural conservation easement is typically more affordable than unprotected land, making it especially appealing to beginning farmers and ranchers.
At the same time, funds paid to landowners to protect the land are often used to make important investments for the farm business, including aiding in retirement for senior generations. GTRLC is responsible for stewarding these conservation easements in perpetuity, which typically leads to long-term relationships with landowners. These relationships could play an important role when it comes time to transfer these already protected lands and help new farmers access them.
To expand on this work, GTRLC applied to and was recently accepted into a newly launched Land Transfer Navigator program, created by American Farmland Trust with support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service. This four-year program provides funding and training to elevate the capacity and competency of agricultural land conservation entities and their staff to support farm transfers that work for both entering and exiting generations.
A goal of this program is for the navigator organization to identify and develop regional networks to host landowner workshops and provide direct technical assistance to support farmland succession planning.
Land access will continue to be a central barrier to the success of the next generation of farmers in the United States, and one that cannot be breached by farmers alone.
What is needed are tools and support networks to assist in succession of and access to land. Through the Land Transfer Navigator program, GTRLC is becoming equipped to assist the landowners of the 80 existing agricultural conservation easements, as well as any farms that will be protected in the future.
By providing coaching and technical assistance to landowners considering transfer options or beginning the transfer process, Navigators can help mitigate agricultural land loss and keep agricultural land in agriculture.
The Land Transfer Program will begin in early 2024. If you’re interested in learning more about the program or GTRLC’s Farmland Protection Program, please contact 231-929-7911 or lrigan@gtrlc.org.