Julia Valliant

With a dream to become a successor to her parents’ farm, Julia Valliant chose to reside permanently in her Indiana hometown. The process of letting go of that dream informs her work since 2015 to explore and serve the complex dynamics of how working lands change hands.

Before Julia joined AFT in 2026, many of the studies she led as a food systems researcher with Indiana University focused on up-and-coming farmers and ranchers as they endeavor to access and afford an adequate land base for their businesses and pursue their own versions of success by navigating secure tenure, home, and community. Her work also learned from elder landholders approaching their legacies through succession, transfer, and estate; from heirs; and from the tapestry of advisors, policymakers, advocates, and service providers who step forward to support people in transferring land from one to the next. American Farmland Trust was a major collaborator in this work, which coupled research and multimedia storytelling to learn from thousands of people’s experiences nationwide. Julia’s Indiana University community honored her with its first ever Food and Agrarian Systems Program Domestic Research Impact Award.

Julia holds doctoral and master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia. She resides in Indiana with her family, where they currently raise and gather native Heartland sugars: maple syrup, honey, and persimmon.