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Events and Training

Upcoming Events

Land For Good staff host mixers, workshops and training across the region, typically with local or regional partners. We are also frequent speakers, panel organizers or moderators at other local, regional and national events.  

Farm Business Planning Course — MA
February 11, 2020
New Entry Farmer Training Center, 733 Cabot St., Beverly MA

  • New Entry Sustainable Farming Project‘s Farm Business Planning course is designed to help you create a written plan to start or expand your farm business. The course will begin January 14th and meet for 8 Tuesday-evening sessions filled with information and activities that will help you write your farm business plan. Our MA Field Agent, Jae Silverman, will present on farmland access for beginning farmers during the February 11th session.

Agricultural Lands: Conservation & Succession — MA
February 19, 2020
Houghton Building, 697 Main Street., Bolton MA; Register now

  • Planning for Your Farm’s Future? Join us for this informative workshop in Bolton. At this free workshop, we’ll discuss: NRCS programs and how NRCS can support your farm’s health, options for conserving agricultural lands in Massachusetts, and preparing for the next generation to take over the land. Guest speakers include Heidi Ramsey – Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Ashley Davies – Sudbury Valley Trustees, and our MA Field Agent Jae Silverman. Residents of all towns welcome. This workshop is sponsored by the Bolton Conservation Commission and SVT SVT; it is co-sponsored by Bolton Agricultural Commission and Bolton Conservation Trust. Register by February 17th. 

Litchfield County Farmland Mixer — CT
February 20, 2020
Kent Falls Brewing, 33 Camps Rd., Kent CT; Register now

  • Do you own farmland? Are you looking for farmland? Or looking for a successor to pass on your farm? Join us for a Farmland Mixer at Kent Falls Brewing! Landowners and retiring farmers can connect with enthusiastic farm seekers looking for land to buy our lease in Connecticut. No cover charge for this event. Cash bar is provided. Agricultural service providers will also be on-hand to answer any questions either party may have, including Land For Good, New CT Farmer Alliance, CT Farmlink, UConn Extension, Working Lands Alliance, and Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust.

Farm Succession: Transferring Your Farm to the Next Generation — MA
February 26, 2020
Gould Barn, 1 Howlett St., Topsfield MA; Registration now open

  • A FREE workshop for farmers and farmland owners hosted by Greenbelt Essex County’s Land Trust. Join us and learn how to plan for a secure retirement while creating opportunity for the next generation of farmers, gain a better understanding of the options, resources, and steps to transfer your farmland and/or farm business to your heirs or new farmers, participate in a Q&A with estate planning attorney and other succession planning professionals, and create custom strategies for your own farm succession plan. Workshop speakers include Land For Good’s Shemariah Blum-Evitts and Jae Silverman, a panel of local farmers, a local attorney, and Farm Credit East’s Jon Jaffe. Please RSVP by February 20th to jane@ecga.org.

The Northern Connecticut Agriculture Summit — CT
February 29, 2020
Asnuntuck Community College, 170 Elm St., Enfield CT

  • Bringing together current and prospective farmers to raise awareness and provide educational seminars to those interested in farming. Seminars include: Managing Healthy Soil, Farmer Grant Programs, Social Media, How to Grow Hemp; the application process; update on 2019 Crop and Panel Discussion, Backyard Chickens 101, Land Access with Land For Good’s CT Field Agent Will O’Meara, Impact of Climate Change, Is Your Farm Covered? Protecting Your Assets, Pollinators, Hydroponics. For more information – email or call Chris Casey, Event Coordinator at cwsmcasey@gmail.com or 860.698.6267.

So You Want to Farm in Maine? Course — ME
March 3, 2020
UMaine Extension Androscoggin-Sagadahoc Office, 24 Main Street, Lisbon Falls ME; Register now

  • This multi-session course is designed for people who want to start a profitable farm or expand their farm hobby to a profitable business. Participants will learn business plan frameworks, record keeping systems, what Cooperative Extension, Land For Good, and other agencies have to offer as resources for their land-based businesses, and the importance of and basics of marketing their products, including customer surveys. This course meets every Tuesday evening in March. Land For Good’s ME Field Agent, Abby Sadauckas will give a presentation on Land Access & Lease Negotiations during the March 10th class. Successful completion of this course qualifies participants for FSA Borrower Training Credit. More details and to register

OrganiConn 2020 — CT
March 7, 2020
Wesleyan University, Middletown CT; Register now

  • Join CT NOFA for their 38th Annual Winter Conference—the largest gathering of organic farming and food enthusiasts in Connecticut. Land For Good’s CT Field Agent, Will O’Meara, will be presenting Farmland Access: Working with Cities and Municipalities. More details and to register

BCDI Land Seeker Meeting — ME
March 8, 2020
Merrymeeting Hall, Bowdoinham ME; Register now

  • The workshop, part of BCDI’s Farmland Inventory Project, is designed to help land seekers consider the needs of their future farm, develop a land search plan, and understand the basics of a farmland lease. Land For Good’s Maine Field Agent, Abby Sadauckas, will lead the workshop along with BCDI’s farmland committee. Maine Farmland Trust staff will also be in attendance to provide an overview of Maine Farm Link and how it can help farm seekers in their farmland search. This event is FREE, though registration is required. Please RSVP or email bcdi.maine@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

Growing Your Farm Business — MA
March 18, 2020
Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, 138 Memorial Ave Suite 42, West Springfield MA

  • MDAR has updated its business planning course curriculum (previously “Tilling the Soil of Opportunity”) to a new, hands-on course to help established farmers develop a business plan and financial projections for their farm business. This course meets once per week for 8 weeks, starting on February 5th, and covers topics including resource assessment, marketing, financial management, risk management, quality of life, and goal setting. Our MA Field Agent Jae Silverman will give a succession planning presentation on March 18th. More information

2020 Connecticut Land Conservation Conference — CT
March 21, 2020
Wesleyan University, Middletown CT; Register now

  • The 36th annual Connecticut Land Conservation Conference is a full day of educational workshops and peer-to-peer networking for those interested in land conservation, followed by an informal reception with friends and colleagues from across the state. Land For Good’s CT Field Agent, Will O’Meara, will be part of the Farmland Access: Making Land Trust and Municipal Lands Available to New and Beginning Farmers panel presentation with Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust and Connecticut Farmland Trust. More details and to register

 

Save the Date! Farm Succession Training for Professionals

A Seminar for Attorneys & Financial Advisors in New England
May 28-29, 2020
Doubletree by Hilton, 99 Erdman Way, Leominster, MA 01453
Registration opens soon!

Join Land For Good and leading experts at a 2-day seminar to build your skills and proficiency in assisting farmers with succession planning. As a leader on succession planning assistance, we believe that educating farmers is not enough. Farmers need skilled and knowledgeable professionals to help them complete succession plans. At the same time, service providers need guidance and expertise to better assist transitioning farmers. With a grant from Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), we will provide professional development training and network-building around succession planning.

Who should attend? Experienced attorneys, new attorneys, law students; accountants and financial advisors. Those with experience in farm transfer and succession planning and those interested in learning more about it.

Hotel discount: Rooms can be reserved for $149/night plus tax at this link for evenings of May 27 & 28. This rate is available on a first come, first serve basis until rooms remain or April 27.
Visit Leominster.DoubleTree.com  | fb.com/doubletreeleom


This training is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number ENE19-155 Improving Professional Capacity to Deliver Farm Succession Planning Assistance in New England.

Where We’ve Been

Selected Presentations

  • Sponsor, Facilitator and Opening Remarks, Farmland Access and the Importance of Networks for Service Providers, Beginning Farmer Network of MA (BFN/MA) Fall Forum, Charlton MA, Nov. 2013.
  • Farmland Access, Tenure and Transfer: Conservation Tool and Context, Panel on Working Lands Conservation, 5th Regional Conservation Partnership Gathering, Nashua NH, Nov. 2013
  • Affordability (panel presenter and moderator), Farmland Access and Affordability Forum, Wethersfield CT, Oct. 2013
  • Co-Sponsor, organizer and presenter, New England Farmland Convening, Portsmouth NH, May 2013
  • Agriculture Trends in MA and New England and Land Conservation, Mt. Grace Conservation Land Trust, Athol MA, 2013
  • Land For Good’s Approach to Farmland Access, JUST Land national gathering, Land Stewardship Project, Rochester MN, 2012
  • Access to Land for Beginning Farmers, National Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Annual Conference, Rochester MN, 2012
  • Leasing Your Protected Farmland for Agricultural Use, Rhode Island Land and Water Summit, Kingston RI, 2010
  • Land Access, Leasing, Land Trusts and More, Drake Agricultural Law Center Forum on Beginning Farmers, Washington DC,, 2010
  • Farm/Ranch Succession Education, Programs and Services, Changing Lands, Changing Hands national conference, Denver CO, 2009
  • Farmland Access and Transfer, Georgia Organics, Atlanta, GA 2009
  • Annual conference, Massachusetts Association of Agriculture Commissions 2009.
  • What’s the Plan for the Farm?, Michigan Land Use Institute, Traverse City MI, 2007
  • Challenges and Opportunities for Small and Beginning Farmers, Small and Beginner Farmers of NH conference, October 2007