A top problem for farmers is access to farms and farmland. Farmland owners are part of the solution. Increasingly, non-farming landowners – private and public – want to support farming and food security. Making land available for farming is one of their most important contributions. Non-farming landowners need information, support and guidance to bring land into agriculture or improve farming land uses. By increasing the availability of farmland, they can help get more farmers on the land, increase production and preserve our valued working landscapes.

Our Working Lands program helps landowners and communities make land available for farming. We work with private, organizational and public non-farming landowners to help them make sound land use decisions and agreements. We encourage traditional and innovative sale and lease models that benefit new and established farmers while meeting landowners’ stewardship and other objectives. We encourage policies and creative models that support farmland owners.

We found the … (farmer) recruitment process to be more involved than expected. Land For Good helped us find the perfect farmers for our property.

– A family land trust, MA

We also work with farm service providers, conservation organizations and communities to support landowners, increase farmland availability and foster good landowner-farmer agreements. In collaboration with researchers and policy makers, we advance policies and innovative working models that will increase farmland availability and foster equity and land stewardship.

What we do

Educate

• We educate by providing information and resource materials such as guides for non-farming landowners interested in farming uses on their property. We deliver workshops and other educational events.

Consult

• We directly assist landowners with property assessment, planning for farming uses, farmer recruitment, and designing good lease and other agreements. We help communities plan for agriculture. We advise land trusts and other conservation organizations.

Innovate

• We build community awareness to increase farmland availability. We research and advocate for new models and policies that support land access and farmland owners. We expand and improve services for landowners, train our colleagues and collaborate on projects.

Who benefits

Landowners

• Understand the potential of their land to support farming and as a community asset
• Are motivated and prepared to offer their properties for farming
• Connect with farmers and advisors, and craft good tenure agreements
• Meet their land stewardship and other objectives

 Farmers

• Improve their access to farmland
• Develop strong working relationships with landowners
• Find more available land for starting and growing their farms

 Communities

• Are better able to assist farmland owners and work with capable service providers
• Have innovative and effective tools and policies to support landowners and land availability
• Increase farming opportunity and enhance food security
• Bring more farmland into active production and meet their working land stewardship objectives

Learn More

• Read our FAQ Who are farmland owners?
• Learn how we help landowners.
• Explore our resources for landowners.
• Steps to leasing your private or public farmland.