A New Family Legacy Takes Root from an Unconventional Farm Transfer

For over 100 years, the Goodell family has been farming 275 acres in Shortsville, New York. From dairy, to livestock, to crops, this land has consistently been in production. Bill and Brycie Goodell planned to keep it that way, but without children they were facing a dilemma known to many farmers in New York: they hoped to retire but didn't have someone in line to take over the farm. 

Over the years, much of the farmland surrounding the Goodells' small farm was lost to development or consolidated, a common occurrence in Western New York. The Goodells could have easily followed that trend and sold the land to a large farm or real estate developer, which would have provided the ticket to their retirement in Arizona. But the easy way out wasn't their style. Bill and Brycie were committed to making sure their land stayed farmland and a small farm. 

In addition to their own desires to maintain the agricultural tradition of their land, Bill and Brycie understood the struggles that beginning farmers face in accessing land to farm and wanted to provide an opportunity to a young farmer. Through their reading on farmland access, Bill and Brycie found the Farmland for a New Generation New York (FNG-NY) and Finger Lakes LandLink websites and listed their farm on both sites. Having met each other on the dating website FarmersOnly.com, Bill and Brycie weren’t strangers to using technology to connect.

The Goodells also began to work with Genesee Land Trust, a Farmland for a New Generation New York and Great Lakes Farm Navigator, to protect their farm with an agricultural conservation easement to achieve their goals of ensuring that the land stays in farming while making the property more affordable for a young farmer. 

After 18 months of searching, Bill Goodell met Mike Verstraete, a young beef and crop farmer looking for land on the FNG-NY website, by chance when Mike came to the farm to purchase hay. Farming 150 acres with his dad in a town 20 minutes away, Mike was searching to put down roots for his family on his own farm and increase his crop production. The two had not interacted directly through the site yet, since the Goodells' farm was outside the region where Mike was looking – but the land was a great match and included grain storage and other infrastructure that would boost his operation.

Meeting in person was the catalyst for Bill and Mike to build a relationship and ultimately decide that Mike would purchase the farm. In addition to partnering with Genesee Land Trust on the conservation easement to make this transition affordable, the Goodells, Mike, and his wife Julia worked with New York FarmNet, another FNG-NY Regional Navigator, to promote healthy communication while navigating the financial aspects of this process. Bill and Mike continued to work the land together, with Bill sharing his knowledge of sustainable farming practices with the next generation.

The two connected over no-till farming, as Mike was doing his own research into no-till and cover crop systems, but he hadn’t made the switch. Working with Bill, who had been no-till farming since 2006, Mike found a mentor and ultimately transitioned nearly all 400 acres between his land and his father’s farm to no-till. Mike also respected the Goodells’ decision to protect the land from development and shared their stewardship ethic.

While they were fully ready to retire and pass the farm to Mike and Julia, the Goodells wanted to maintain a connection to the land during the part of the year they spend in New York. They built a smaller house on a hill overlooking the farm and its original farmhouse, now the home of Mike and Julia and their daughter Madalyn, who joined the family after the farm transition in August 2024.

Bill and Brycie could not have pictured where their unconventional path would lead when they set out to find a farmer. But, from the view above the farm, full of new life and possibility – it's hard to imagine a more beautiful outcome.