Over the winter months we look forward to connecting with farmers to help them on their road to finding farmland or transferring their farm with the following online and in-person training series. But these workshops are filling up fast – reserve your spot today!
Learn how to acquire your own farm
Finding, getting onto, and holding land for farming is harder than in past generations. Escalating cost of land, competition for uses, and concentration in ownership have compounded the issue.
Acquiring Your Farm training series for new and beginning farmers offers a deep dive into the complex issues of farmland access and tenure, including how to conduct a land search, assess farm properties, identify goals and different tenure methods, discover keys to successful communication, and more. This course is most appropriate for farmers with a year or more of farming experience, or who have a business plan.
A six-session virtual series will take place on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 – 8:00pm (EST) beginning January 17. Space is limited for these interactive sessions – apply now to reserve your spot!
“What you shared with us will definitely be useful… so grateful for your knowledge. Now I feel ready to look for my farm.”
Workshop participant
Where to start with farm succession planning
Most farmers that we work with want their land to stay in agriculture, but very few have plans in place that articulate how the land, equipment, business, and other assets will be divided among the next generation or unrelated operator. Succession planning can present challenges, and each situation is unique. We have helped hundreds of farmers find innovative solutions that keep their farms in farming, whether or not they have an identified successor. One of the questions we hear most often from farmers about farm succession is, “Where do I start?” So we created various training opportunities for farmers ready to work on farm succession planning this winter.
Start with this free webinar for transitioning farmers and junior generation farmers to learn the basics like how to get started, where to find support, and hear from farmers recently in transition!
A four-session webinar series on Farm Succession Planning will take place on Wednesdays during lunchtime from 11:00am – 1:00pm (EST) beginning January 17. Farmers from across New England are welcome to attend. Family members and farm partners are also encouraged to attend. Farmers do not need to have an identified successor to participate in this course.
January 17 – Getting Started: Resources, Tips and Where to Get Assistance
January 24 – Legal Considerations: Business Entities & Estate Planning
January 31 – Financial, Retirement & Tax Considerations
February 7 – Farmer Panel: Successes & Challenges
“Fantastic job packing so much information into short webinars! The course gave me a broad understanding of how financially, emotionally, and legally complex this is for families, as well as how much time it can take. It also identified resources to get started.”
Workshop participant
Opportunity for Massachusetts farmers to dig into farm succession planning
Farm Succession School is a three-day winter course for senior generation farmers – with or without an identified successor – who are ready to dig into creating a farm succession plan. Active, commercial farmers in Massachusetts who are looking to transfer their farm to a related or un-related successor are encouraged to attend.
Help get the conversation started, learn from advisors, clarify goals and next steps, and connect with resources that make a succession plan successful. Farm Succession School will take place in-person in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ (MDAR) Business Training Program, the fee for the course will be subsidized. It is important to us that course fees do not create a barrier to participation! If any of the course fees would prevent you from participating, please contact the course coordinator.
Farm Succession School meets all three days at the Berkshire Athenaeum Library, Pittsfield, MA on the following Wednesdays from 9:00am – 4:00pm:
January 31,
February 28, and
March 27
“The farm succession school my wife and I attended opened our eyes to many aspects of the succession process which were very helpful in our completing a very agreeable farm succession and retirement.”
Workshop participant
Feel empowered to make land available for farming
When a landowner makes land available for farming, it helps secure a future for farming in our communities. Productive, sustainable uses for all or parts of a property can bring many rewards!
A two-part webinar series to help farmland owners – and their representatives – explore motivations, strategies, and mechanics for making any amount of land available to a farmer will take place on Thursdays during lunchtime from 12:00 – 1:30pm (EST) February 22 and 29. Our goal is to help farmland owners feel empowered and prepared to share their land as an important piece of the crucial farmland base of New England. Hosted by the New England Farm Link Collaborative, a partnership of farm link programs and land access services in New England that provide a variety of farmland access support services, including Connecticut FarmLink, Maine FarmLink, Vermont Land Link, and Land For Good.
“Thank you for this seminar. The resources and guidelines were great. It was very helpful and thought-provoking to hear from landowners and farmers in the final session.”
Workshop participant
One on One Advising
Looking for individual assistance? We can help you clarify goals, share recommended resources, next steps and/or referrals.
- Are you looking for secure access to farmland or better land agreements? Get in touch through our Farm Seeker Form
- Are you thinking about farm succession? Get in touch through our Farm Succession Form
- Do you own or manage land that could be farmed? Get in touch through our Landowner Form
Thank You to our funders who make these workshops possible! Acquiring Your Farm webinar series and Landowner workshop funded as part of the Land for Farmers project, funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, Grant #2021-49400-35642. Farm succession planning webinar series funded by the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board through the VT Viability Program and by the CT Department of Agriculture’s CT FarmLink Program. Massachusetts Farm Succession School funding provided by by Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ (MDAR) Agricultural Business Training Program.
