Archive: Around Town

The average age of American farmers is teetering towards 60, while the percentage of farmers under the age of 40 has been in decline for decades.  And yet amidst this concern about an aging farm population and fears of rural exodus, a new generation of aspiring farmers is cropping up in the Finger Lakes.  Finding suitable farmland, however, is a daunting task—for beginners and established farmers alike.

In a 2011 national survey conducted by the National Young Farmers Coalition, nearly 70% of respondents identified land access as the biggest barrier to farming.  This is why in 2009, Monika Roth—the Agricultural Program Leader at Cornell Cooperative Extension in Tompkins County—decided to survey local landowners who were interested in leasing, selling, or sharing their land for agriculture.  If there was enough interest from the local community, Roth hoped to develop a LandLink database through which current or prospective farmers could be connected with appropriate landowners in the region to support land arrangements for successful farm businesses.

The response was overwhelming: after her initial survey, Roth received over 40 phone calls from interested landowners and farmers. Yet, with little staff support or funding the project was shelved for several years.  The idea was revisited in 2013 when Roth met with Ian Bailey, a Cornell graduate student, and they decided to revive the project.  Bailey was awarded a Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Science Land Grant Fellowship to participate in building and implementing the LandLink project, and Roth received additional funding from the Park Foundation.  With funding and staff the planning and implementation for the Finger Lakes LandLink project began in earnest this past August. 

LandLink projects are proving to be effective ways to enhance (and expand) agricultural opportunities in the United States.  There are a number of similar programs sprouting up across the country, including one in the Catskills, Hudson Valley, as well as Vermont, Pennsylvannia, and California.  While the idea is fairly straightforward, making successful matches is a little more challenging.

Each property has unique agro-ecological characteristics, and likewise, land seekers have a diverse range of enterprise interests—from producing hops, vegetables, or flowers to livestock or dairy operations.  Finding the appropriate land for the appropriate farm enterprise is a challenge in and of itself, but this is just the beginning of the process.  While agricultural leases can be very straightforward, it is essential that both parties clearly understand their respective goals and visions for the property. 

This is precisely why Roth and Bailey, along with their colleagues Devon Van Noble and Joanna Green of the Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming, are providing support through the LandLink matching process.

Finger Lakes LandLink currently has 14 land seeker listings and 5 land listings since the website was launched in March.

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