New legislation to increase support for farmers, ranchers, and foresters with small-acreage operations across the country through the Office of Small Farms Establishment Act would create a new office within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) focused on ensuring that smaller operations have better access to the critical federal programs that provide farm loans, conservation funding, crop insurance, and much more.
Kinzie Reiss
AFT Statement on Gov. Hochul's State of the State Address
Olivia Fuller
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Learn how Crooked Porch Farm in Virginia uses high tunnels, soil health practices, EQIP funding, and farm grants to grow vegetables year-round while building a sustainable family farming business.
Discover how a childhood garden inspired a career in soil health, regenerative agriculture, and conservation. Learn how biochar, composting, and land stewardship can help farmers build healthier soils and more resilient agricultural systems.
Discover how regenerative soil health practices can improve farm profitability, resilience, and long-term sustainability while strengthening rural communities and food systems. Learn about the latest economic tools, research, and resources helping farmers make informed conservation decisions that support both their bottom line and the future of agriculture.
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This spring our Midwest team gathered in Wisconsin/Iowa driftless area to learn and grow together. Learning about adult education mental models, visually impactful demonstrations, and the full sensory experience of an operational dairy farm! Though the Midwest spans states, our team is taking our in-person connections to build a stronger, more resilient Midwest region, rooted together.
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Discover how American Farmland Trust's (AFT) expanded engineering team is helping farmers and landowners turn infrastructure ideas into buildable, fundable projects. Learn how expert support for drainage, irrigation, water management, manure systems, permitting, and NRCS compliance can save time, reduce costs, and improve farm resilience across the Northeast.
Chantel Welch and the Pacific Northwest team help farmers and ranchers increase their resilience on individual and community levels out West.
Discover how agrivoltaics is transforming Texas agriculture by combining solar energy production with livestock grazing, hay production, and new opportunities for farmers and ranchers. Learn how innovative solar projects can improve land access, strengthen rural economies, and help preserve working lands across Texas.
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.
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This winter, I hosted a series of informal “virtual coffee chats” with farmers across Illinois. These conversations started with a simple goal: to provide ongoing agronomic support to farmers participating in ADM’s re:generations™ program in Illinois. Through its partnership with ADM, American Farmland Trust works directly with producers to offer agronomic advice and support as they adopt and expand their use cover crops, reduced tillage, and other soil health practices.
As the Midwest Policy Manager for American Farmland Trust, I work with a wide array of individuals and organizations, all bringing their own priorities and perspectives to the proverbial table. In a policy landscape where time, attention, and funding are limited, finding initiatives that resonate across that diversity can be challenging.
Discover how innovative land succession strategies like Buy-Protect-Sell Plus are helping preserve farmland, support retiring landowners, and create affordable access for the next generation of farmers. Learn how conservation easements, public funding, and long-term farm viability planning can keep agricultural land protected and productive for generations to come.
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American Farmland Trust’s Midwest Deputy Director, Jean Brokerish, honors the often-unseen women whose daily labor, resilience, and care keep family farms running generation after generation.
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.
Those of us in conservation agriculture talk a lot about scaling the adoption of cover crops and conservation tillage in the US
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