The New England Farmlink Collaborative is Here for You
Burlington, VT – Whether you’ve got farmland you’re looking to sell or to lease, or seeking land to establish or grow your farm, the New England Farmlink Collaborative is a new partnership of agricultural support specialists ready to help.
Collaborative members include Connecticut Farm Link, Maine Farm Link, Vermont Land Link and Land for Good. Each member provides a host of different services all aimed at one common goal: to help New England’s farm seekers and landowners connect. The collaborative recently spearheaded huge improvements to the website, http://newenglandfarmlandfinder.org/, currently listing over 130 farm properties with over 989 farm seekers registered who are actively seeking land or farming opportunities.
Collaborative member Ben Waterman, Land Access and New Farmer Coordinator of the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture, says, “The website lists properties all over New England, and a regional approach makes sense. It lets farm seekers learn about more properties, more quickly, and it means that staff from the organizations can devote themselves to supporting the more complicated process of making matches between owners and seekers. “
The “friendly portal” not only provides detailed listings that are constantly updated, but also guidance around transitioning farmland for those seeking or listing properties. Links to local farmland linking organizations, worksheets to help prepare to assess land, information about how to establish lease rates are just a few of the other pieces provided alongside the listings of properties throughout the region.
“It can be hard to find farmland, but even that is a small part of the process of finding the right land for what a prospective farmer is seeking to do. We hope that owners and seekers will both use the website to clarify their goals, understand the assets they have or are seeking, learn what’s available, and then contact a Collaborative member to help as they move forward. We’re excited about the website, but it’s just a piece of what’s involved in making the right match,” says Waterman.
The Land Access Project is supported by a grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture through its Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, #2015-70017-23900.
For more information, contact Cheryl Herrick at [email protected], 802-656-5459
About UVM Extension Center for Sustainable Agriculture
Farmland Access is one program of the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Established in 1994, the Center provides timely information to Vermont communities and the UVM campus. Center staff conduct innovative research, support the development of promising practices, cultivate partnership, and inform policy to advance sustainable food and farming systems
University of Vermont Extension, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, cooperating, offer education and employment to everyone without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or familial status. This institution is an equal opportunity provider.