How to acquire land
Where Do I Start? Acquiring Land To Farm short guide/worksheet
Steps to Acquiring a Farm or Farmland diagram
Acquiring Your Farm 2.0, an online tutorial for farm seekers (re-launched Spring 2017)
Successfully Acquiring Your Farm, Beginning Farmer Network of MA blog post
- Finding, Assessing, and Securing Farmland, A Plain Language Guide from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (pdf)
- New England Farmland Finder online property clearinghouse
Land access
NEW! Farm Access Methods decision guide stands out in its organized and practical way of addressing and assessing land access methods
NEW! Farm Access Decision Tool summarizes the methods and likely partners to help you compare methods and make informed decisions
NEW! Farmland Access in Urban Settings guide offers practical suggestions, examples, and innovative models to help new farmers launch and sustain viable urban farms
Cooperative Holding of Land, Chapter 5 in Cooperative Farming, a Greenhorns guidebook
Successful Farming on a Land Cooperative a farmer’s story
Agricultural Land Tenure Curriculum, a product of the Farm LASTS Project, 2005
Acccess to Land, an archived Farmland Advisors Project webinar
Access to Land, by Kathy Ruhf, in The Natural Farmer (Winter 2002-2003)
Leases and leasing
NEW! Build-A-Lease Tool, learn about and craft a farm lease; includes definitions, FAQs, sample language and fill-in spaces for the most common sections of a farm lease
NEW! Liability and Insurance in a Farm Lease guide for landowners and tenants
Toolbox for Leasing Farmland, resources for farm seekers and landowners
Assessing land and farm infrastructure
Vermont Natural Resource Atlas Mapping Tutorial (VT)
- GranitView (NH) maps soils, flooding hazards and more
- RIDEM Environmental Resource Map (RI) in the RIDEM Map Room
- Using the NRCS Web Pages to Get Soils Information, A guide from Maryland FarmLINK
- Web Soil Survey, Natural Resources Conservation Service
- Area Calculator Tool by Google Maps or PlaniMeter by ACME
- Rental Assessment Checklist, UVM and Intervale Center. A checklist guide to examine a prospective farm property for lease or for purchase.
- How to Determine Land Area and Distance With Your Smartphone from On Pasture
Farm Link Programs
- NewEnglandFarmlandFinder.org free posting site for properties for sale or lease to help farm seekers and farm property holders find each other
- New England Farm Link Program Guide explains our region’s farm link programs that help connect farm seekers and farmland owners interested in putting or keeping land in active farming
- New England Farm Link Collaborative builds awareness, readiness and connections among farm seekers, farmers and landowners of all types in all New England states
- New! How to Create Effective Online Property Postings for Farm Link Websites; the guide walks you through the typical components of a farm property posting and describes key information most relevant for farmers
Related links
- Farmland Access Legal Toolkit, Vermont Law School, Center for Agriculture and Food Systems
- New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (MA) website
- Equity Trust website
- Holding Ground: A Guide to Northeast Farmland Tenure and Stewardship, purchase at New England Small Farm Institute
- UVM Extension New Farmer Project website and Land Access and Tenure Toolshed
- Finding Land to Farm: Six ways to Secure Farmland by The National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service – ATTRA
- Finding a Farm to Buy or Lease (Guide to Farming in NY #1), Northeast Beginning Farmers Project
- Greenhorns Land Access Resources on finding sustainable land tenure by Cornell University Cooperative Extension
- Land resource page, NESFI
- Access to Land website of Partnership for America’s New Farmers
*Thanks to The Greenhorns, The Ohio State University Extension, the University of Vermont’s Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Cuyahoga Valley Countryside Initiative for permission to upload their documents.
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