Most farmers are so busy with the day-to-day business of farming that they find it hard to plan ahead. While they might have hopes for the future of their farm, deciding what to do with their farm as they exit … Continue reading
Archive | Stories
Intentional long-term transition leads to seamless farm transfer
Walking along the sixty-acre vegetable farm, it’s easy to see the lifelong work and care that has gone into Crossroad Farm. Tim and Janet Taylor, founders of Crossroad Farm in Fairlee VT, started farming on one acre of land in … Continue reading
A farmer’s land access journey cultivates joy & diversity
Bo Dennis fell in love with farming at a young age because he found himself in a constant state of learning. He loved how much there was to learn and how farming allowed him to be his true creative self. … Continue reading
A dairy farm finds hope in a successful transfer to a new farmer
For retiring farmers, a farm transfer can take months, even years, to plan and complete. The transfer of John and Beth Haynes’ organic dairy farm took nearly seven years. Top: Haynes Dairy Farm located on Moody Hill in Claremont NH; … Continue reading
Farmland inventory project aimed at connecting Bowdoinham ME landowners with aspiring farmers
Neighbors helping neighbors is a way of life in rural Maine. Take the town of Bowdoinham, for example. If a farmer wants to find land in town, they would likely have a conversation with David Whittlesey, an active and engaged … Continue reading
Beginning farmers Cara & Michael find land through farm link program
Finding secure access to land is the top barrier for a new generation of farmers looking to gain ground. About 61% of beginning famers report that access to land is their biggest challenge, according to the National Young Farmers Coalition. … Continue reading
A farmer’s personal reflection on transferring the farm
I have loved two farms, the farm where I grew up in Connecticut, and the farm I live on now in Massachusetts. Back in their early days, everyone farmed to subsist. Stories of work horses pulling hay wagons and picnics … Continue reading
Bread & Butter Farm is the founding farm for the Vermont Agrarian Commons
A Model for Community-Centered Land Ownership Bread & Butter Farm recently announced its role as the founding farm of the newly launched Vermont Agrarian Commons, in partnership with national non-profit Agrarian Trust. Vermont has joined ten states across the country … Continue reading
Somali Bantu Community Association finds dream farm through Agrarian Commons
As American farmers struggle to hold onto their livelihoods, farmers from socially disadvantaged groups face an even longer list of barriers including African-American, Latinx, Native American, women, immigrants, and LGBTQ+. Accessibility to land is the greatest barrier for new farmers’ … Continue reading
A farmer’s 10-year journey to finding land that she can call her own
Every farmer’s story of getting securely on farmland is different. For this female farmer, her journey has been 10 years in the making. In January 2020, Andal Sundaramurthy signed a lease-to-own agreement on a 3-acre field in Wilmot, New Hampshire … Continue reading