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Wisconsin Great Lakes Farm Navigators

The Great Lakes Farm Navigators project is an initiative led by American Farmland Trust, and supported by the Great Lakes Protection Fund, to support the ecological health of the Great Lakes while sustaining a viable agricultural economy and communities.

The Great Lakes Farm Navigator cohort began meeting in 2023. Since then, members have participated in trainings on land access, farm transfer, and conservation practices and evaluation. They’ve also built regional networks and have been working one on one with farmers in Michigan, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin.

Navigators are skilled professionals who provide direct assistance to farmers, ranchers, and landowners. They support conservation with succession and transfer planning so a new generation can thrive on the land.

Meet the Navigators in Wisconsin

Meet Navigators in other Great Lakes States

Michigan

New York

Ohio

Nearly one in three farmers across the Great Lakes is over 65….

… and will likely be transferring their farms in the next 15 years. These farms and their conservation investments are at risk of being converted to real estate. At the same time, the next generation of farmers face prohibitive land prices and lack connections to landowners.

In response, Navigators are working to promote successful farm transfers, create paths to land access, and promote conservation in the Great Lakes Watershed.

Learn more about Protecting the Great Lakes through a Farm Navigator Network

Many thanks to the Great Lakes Protection Fund for supporting this project.

Great Lakes Protection Fund is an impact investor. They launch and accelerate big ideas that protect the Great Lakes ecosystem.

Learn more about GLPF

Midwest Region

In the Midwest, AFT works with farmers, landowners, and conservation partners to improve the health of our soils and protect them from water and wind erosion. In addition to working with farmers and landowners, we support the implementation of conservation by quantifying outcomes of soil health practices to prove “they work." In the Midwest, we need to save the land—not just by the acre, but also by the inch.

Learn more about AFT’s Midwest Regional Office.