AFT Applauds Introduction of the Bipartisan American Food Supply Chain Resiliency Act
American Farmland Trust (AFT) applauds Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature for enacting a final FY 2026–27 state budget that delivers meaningful, sustained investments in farmland protection, farm viability, climate resilience, and local food systems across New York.
American Farmland Trust has named Julia Valliant as Director of the national Farms for a New Generation team, where she will lead efforts to increase access to land and capital for the rising generation of farmers and ranchers and support elder farmers and landowners in transferring their farms with dignity and confidence.
AFT Applauds Introduction of the Bipartisan American Food Supply Chain Resiliency Act
Highlighting a recent policy update that offers a perspective on our work to advance farmland protection and support agricultural viability across Washington State in 2026.
Stephanie Castle
Agriculture solar energy is a necessary tool in the fight against climate change. Experts agree that sourcing more energy from cleaner sources, such as solar panels, will help mitigate some of climate change’s future impacts. For America’s farmers and ranchers, this means limiting the regular occurrence of catastrophic weather events—such as floods, droughts, and intense heat waves—that threaten land and livelihood, as well as slowing less obvious climactic shifts that affect crops and livestock.
Ethan Winter
AFT Staff
AFT Staff
AFT Staff
Brooks Lamb
AFT Staff
As part of this work, AFT recently published “Solar Energy and Agriculture in Kentucky.” This document is the product of an intensive stakeholder engagement process in which we interviewed leaders from agricultural, environmental, energy, and community groups. Insights shared during these thorough, thoughtful conversations can—and should—guide Kentucky’s approach to solar development.
Brooks Lamb
AFT Staff
Emily Liss
Michael Shulman
In April, three AFT staff celebrated MANRRS’ 40th year at their “Leadership to Legacy Annual Training Conference and Career Expo” in Dallas, Texas. AFT’s Anel Trujillo, Nicole Gwishiri, and Tasha Wei hosted hands-on trainings and a booth at the conference career expo, which was attended by conference founders and thousands of students from across the country.
Farmers and farm workers gathered to discuss cover cropping strategies at Sungrounded Farm in the high desert of Terrebonne, Oregon, this past March.
Agricultural producers and advisors are working together to navigate generational farm transitions.
Colorado is testing whether food and energy can truly grow together — from vineyard agrivoltaics at CSU to the first commercial fruit-orchard project at Talbott Farms. Four takeaways from 1,000 miles of conversations with farmers, co-ops, and county officials on what it will take to scale.
I grew up in Illinois, and here you learn to notice what I like to refer to as “little” nature. Little nature doesn’t demand your attention in the same way as more dramatic and grand landscapes; you have to give it your attention. You see little nature in the evolution of prairie flowers across the seasons, in the subtle differences between the bee species that pollinate them, or in the hidden life of a creek bed. These are things you come to understand over time by paying attention.
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Prosperity Partners, American Farmland Trust's fee-for-service program, is expanding its agricultural engineering services in the Northeast. And this April, we're hosting three free webinars to show farmers, land trusts, and nonprofits what's now possible.
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