1. Creative Ways to Access Land
Stories and Strategies
Healthy Farms Conference
February 16, 2012
2. The Challenges
• Cost of land
• Finding land available for sale in a desirable location
• Accessing financing (especially for smaller, non-
conventional operations – new FSA micro-loan
program)
Iowa set a new farmland price in December,
2011 when a 74-acre tract in Sioux County sold
for $20,000 per acre
3. Working with Challenges
• Creativity, tenacity
and grit
• Need for policy
changes to ease
entry for beginning
farmers and
ranchers
• Learned to work with Erica Hellen (Free Union Grass Farm,
existing challenges Free Union, Virginia)
4. Farmers who “made it”
• Emily and Joe Donegan – Donegan
Family Farm, Charlotte, Vermont
• Steve and Shelley Lorenz – West Blue
Farm, Milford, Nebraska
• Erica Hellen and Joe Slezak – Free
Union Grass Farm, Free Union, Virginia
• Erin Frank – Intern at Branched Oak
Farm, Raymond, Nebraska
5. Donegan Family Farm
Emily and Joe Donegan
• Seasonal Jersey
diary in Charlotte,
Vermont
• Starting keeping
heifers at Joe’s
family farm but
needed a milking
facility to ship milk
• “Looked around the
neighborhood” for
The Donegan’s son, Frankie,
defunct diary farms “helping” with chores
6. Donegan Family Farm
• Narrowed down options
(milking facility, enough
land, place to live) and
approached owners
• Started renting a farm
that only stopped
shipping a few months
before – equipment,
parlor intact
• Farmhouse was
unlivable so purchased
a mobile home and
The Donegan’s Jersey Cow pulled it next to the
“Happy” house
7. Five Years of Horse Manure
• Lived at farm for 2 years then approached a
neighboring farm about leasing land/barn
• Farm stopped milking five before and used barn for
horses = 5 years of horse manure
• Cleaned up barn, set up tie-stall and moved into
farmhouse
• Began milking into buckets and purchased a pipeline
in 2012
• Approached landlords about purchasing the farm and
had it appraised but landlords wanted more money
than the land was worth
8. Donegan Family Farm
Future:
• No lease – so feel
vulnerable.
• Plan to do some
“door knocking” to
aging diary farmers
this winter
• Key strength: local
connections in the Patrick and Frankie Donegan
community
9. West Blue Farm
Deb and Dave Welsch and Steve and Shelley Lorenz
• Accessed land
working closely with
the landowners and
current farmers
• Importance of
mentoring, planning
and trust
• Partnership based Dave and Deb Welsch and Shelley
on strengths of each and Steve Lorenz and the Lorenz’
party twin daughters
10.
11. Free Union Grass Farm
Erica Hellen and Joel Slezak
• Grassfed beef and
pastured pork
poultry farm near
Free Union, Virginia
• Quickly realized that
purchasing land in
their area is “next to Free Union Grass Farm Logo
impossible”
12. Free Union Grass Farm
• Started on 8 acres of
pasture owned by Joel’s
family
• Expanded to 15 acres
of usable pasture, with
barn for hay storage
and reliable well owned
by a neighbor – “sold”
idea based on tax
rebates for keeping land
Hay Girrrll – Erica Hellen of
in agricultural
Free Union Grass Farm
production
13. Free Union Grass Farm
Pasture raised duck
• Original 8 acres surrounded by land owned by a wealthy
absentee landowner – farmers wrote letter asking to use 25
acre pasture
• Mutual friend wrote recommendation to landowners
14. Free Union Grass Farm
• Conditions of using
25 acres pasture
included purchasing
liability insurance
and they have to
avoid grazing certain
areas of the property
• Insurance policy is
Erica moving bales $220/year – cheap
compared to a 25
acre lease
15. Free Union Grass Farm
Future:
• Continue acquiring
free/cheap land leases
from people who are not
using their land
• Save to purchase a
small property in the
middle of those
properties – build credit
by paying mortgage and Joel at the Free Union Farm
purchase land Farmers Market Stand
16. Erin Frank
Intern at Branched Oak Farm
• Branched Oak Farm
certified organic,
grass-based dairy
specializing in
creating farmstead
cheeses.
• Host interns who
Intern Erin Frank at Branched pursue their own
Oak Farm entrepreneurial
ideas
17. Erin Frank
•Erin is starting a small CSA at Branched Oak in
summer 2013 along with helping out on the diary
and creamery
•Previous intern projects include raising hogs,
chickens and vegetables
18. Why Join Land Link?
Beginning Farmer
• Experience and passion to farm
• Need resources to start your own operation
• Land Link connects you with people who can help.
Retiring Farmer
• Want to maintain your farm and legacy
• Land Link helps you find the right match
Landowner
• Interested in renting or selling any amount of land
• Land link helps you find an interested beginner
19. Linking Procedure
Beginning Farmer Landowner/Retiring
or Rancher Farmer or Rancher
• Application • Worksheet
• Listings • Review
• Consider • Listing
• Contact • Potential matches
contact you
20. Making a Match
• Explore shared
interests/goals,
meshing needs
• Land Link staff
provides support
• Beginner and
landowner negotiate
and enact transfer
21. Additional Resources and
Programs for Beginners
• High value markets
• Advice
• Federal programs
• Many additional programs and
resources listed on our website
22. Land Link brings together new farmers
and established landowners to secure the
future of American family farms
23. Questions?
Virginia Meyer
virginiam@cfra.org
402.687.2100
www.cfra.org
Editor's Notes
Seasonal diarywhich means two things: they try to get all the heifers giving birth at the same time each year; and there’s a period of time in the winter when the couple gets a little break, doing no milking at all. The cows are in a constant cycle of having a calf, freshening, lactation, drying off and then giving birth again. It’s a system that requires a tremendous amount of coordination. Calving time begins in earnest in February, which gives the Donegans a relatively quiet December and January, and gives the animals ideal seasons
Emily says: “We worked all fall, excavating the barn from 5 year of horse manure, then setting up a tie-stall. We starting off milking into buckets and eventually bought a pipeline system and set that up.”
Emily says: “Joe is related to a lot of people, knows a lot of people, and gets along with everyone. He can brush shoulders with the crunchy hippies and the old-time Vermonters. So I think if something ends up working out for us, it will be through personal relationships and working things out, which is how our rental situations all came about.”
Erica says: “Lots of wealthy absentee landowners either from D.C. or people who have a tie to the University of Virginia and like to come back 4 days out of the year keep land prices super high because they can’t be outbid - plus horse farmers, a superior view, good quality soil make our part of the country enormously expensive.”
The neighbor was willing to let them use the pasture for free because the tax rebates save the landowners several thousand dollars per year even though the cows only graze there part of the year.
Erica says: “In the letter we mentioned all of our management intensive practices, rotational grazing techniques, all around awesomeness etc. Serendipitously, Joel’s previous boss was sorority sisters with the wife, and send her a fantastic recommendation about us around the time we sent our letter. Had she not sent that recommendation, they might not have given us the time of day. But we got a call from their landscape architect, and then their legal department, and they wanted to tour the property and discuss the stipulations of their conservation easements and talk about grazing boundaries.”
Erica take on land access “it’s possible to buy a farm in lots of other places and if you can get something with reasonable payments and a decent place to live, definitely go that route. But purchasing viable land that is close enough to your market to be feasible is a big challenge. Getting really cheap land far away from town works for some people, but not all. I know lots of farmers who become subject to what I call “farmer burnout” and quit farming, simply by isolating themselves from social outlets and access to other company. Not smart when it comes to a holistic plan, so be careful where you buy.”
BeginningYou have experience, grit and passion for agricultureYou don’t have the resources to start your own operation from scratch yet. Land Link connects you with people who can help.RetiringYou want to see your farm passed on to a younger farmer who will maintain your legacyLand Link allows you to present your farm to interested beginners and find the right matchLandownerYou are interested in renting or selling some or all of your land to a beginning farmer.Land Link lets beginners contact you. Many are interested in small parcels – no amount of acres is too small to be included.
BeginnerFillnew farmer/rancher applicationLand Link provides land listingsConsider how your goals and needs mesh with those of existing farms and ranches in listingsContact potential partnering landownersLandownerFill out the landowner worksheetLand Link reviews your farm or ranch description and your desired linking relationship with youYour listing goes to the new farmers or ranchersPotential matches contact you
New farmer and landowner explore shared interests/goals, meshing needsLand Link staff provides supportExample transfer strategies and working arrangementsLegal resourcesFinancial information and funding sourcesBeginner and landowner negotiate and enact transfer
