Extension News: Land conservation Archives

Project matches farmland owners with aspiring farmers looking for land

"Today, more than ever, there's a need to match farmers who want to sell or rent their farms with people who want to go into farming," says John Porter, New Hampshire Extension dairy specialist emeritus.

"Farmland is expensive and hard to find, and there's a younger generation with a desire to farm and supply local food. Some landowners have indicated a willingness to make special arrangements for people who showed promise of carrying on their enterprise."

A formal program to match farm owners with buyers or renters
Toward that end, in 2000 the New Hampshire Coalition for Sustaining Agriculture, a cross-section of people dedicated to preserving agriculture in the state, proposed the idea of a program to join aspiring farmers to willing renters or sellers of farmland.

"We called it New Hampshire Farm Link," says Porter. "Tony Mincu, a Coalition member and a law student at the time, took on the task of formally organizing Farm Link as part of a community law project at Franklin Pierce Law School. There have been a few applications kept on file over the years and some informal match-ups, but there wasn't enough funding or staff to maintain a full-service land-matching program.

Farm Link finds a permanent home
"After several years of relative dormancy, looking for a new home, New Hampshire Farm Link has merged with New England LandLink, a program of the New England Small Farm Institute (NESFI) in Belchertown, Massachusetts," says Porter "We're really excited about this move.

"New England LandLink, which serves all of New England and eastern New York, maintains a database that currently has 510-plus seekers and more 60 farm offerings. Merging with this regional program will provide a considerably larger pool of prospective farmers and available land and should be a win-win situation for everyone involved," says Porter. "LandLink director Warren Hubley is available by phone and email to provide personal contact (warren@smallfarm.org or 413-323-4531).

Looking for farmland? Want to sell farmland?
People who want to list their property or who are looking for land can obtain application forms from any UNH Cooperative Extension office or other cooperating agricultural agencies around the state, or directly from New England LandLink. It costs $10 to register for the standard LandLink services, which include contact information for any Web listings and advice about new properties.

Saving Special Places, New Hampshire's largest annual conservation conference will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2009 at Gilford High School in Gilford.

Whether you're new to conservation and want to learn from the people who do it every day, or you're an old hand wanting to network with colleagues, you won't want to miss Saving Special Places.

Co-sponsored by UNH Cooperative Extension and the Society for the Protection of NH Forests, the conference features three sessions, each offering 11 tracks of workshops (for a total of 33 workshops) for beginners through experienced levels.

Learn about Basic Conservation Options, Wind Power and Conservation, Funding and Conservation, Integrating Biodiversity Considerations into Working Forest Easements, and more, or attend a Round Table discussion for more advanced levels.

Lisa Vernagaard, Director of Planning and Stewardship at The Trustees of Reservations in Massachusetts will give the keynote address, sharing many examples of how land trusts and other conservation organizations are beginning to take meaningful action toward climate change. She will direct our attention to the many challenges we face including determining future land conservation projects, evolving our land management, reducing our organizational carbon footprints and building public support.

Rand Wentworth, President of the national Land Trust Alliance, will provide a brief overview of the national land conservation movement and its emerging trends, opportunities and challenges during the morning plenary welcome session. He will also be leading and participating in workshops throughout the day.

Conference brochure
Workshop descriptions
Conference registration form