Supporting Transition and Access on Agricultural Lands
Forty percent of the country’s agricultural land – 370 million acres – is owned or operated by seniors. As aging agricultural landowners prepare to retire, the future of the land they steward is at a critical turning point. How and to whom they transfer their land will have an enormous impact on the next generation of farmers and ranchers and the opportunities available to them. Regional food systems, local economies, and climate change solutions all depend a new generation’s ability to access and steward the land well.
In response, American Farmland Trust, with support from NRCS, has developed a multi-year, multi-faceted program to address challenges affecting:
- Senior landowners grappling with transferring their land and operations.
- A diverse, new generation of farmers and ranchers looking to access land.
- The next generation within farm and ranch families involved in a transfer.
- Organizations interested in providing land access and transfer support.
The goal of the Land Transfer Navigators program is to dramatically increase the transfer of farm and ranch land to a new generation of producers. The program will catalyze practitioners from across the country to support equitable farm and ranch transfers that work for both entering and exiting generations. Through a four-year program, AFT will provide training along with technical and financial assistance to support easement-holding entities and the farmers, ranchers, and landowners they work with.
