In the news...
Have you experienced barriers or challenges to accessing farmland? We want to know! Take part in a survey from a joint MIFarmLink-MSU Extension research project funded through a SARE grant. If you have faced roadblocks in the pursuit of acquiring or passing on land, please take a few minutes to tell us about it
Leasing, buying, transferring farmland focus of MSU research project - Michigan Farm News
Hear about our recent move to the statewide organization, the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts. MI Farm News
Publications:
- The Americana Foundation helped lay the foundation for MIFarmLink. https://americanafoundation.org/news-april-11-2023/
- MI Farm News https://www.michiganfarmnews.com/michigan-association-of-conservation-districts-to-be-mifarmlink-home-help-match-make?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Farm%20News
- SARE grant survey with MSU-E. https://msu-prod.dotcmscloud.com/news/have-you-experienced-barriers-or-challenges-to-accessing-farmland-we-want-to-know
- Ann Arbor Observer https://annarborobserver.com/mifarmlink/
- SooLeader.com New chapter for MIFarmLink as it becomes a statewide program - SooLeader
- Michigan Farm News 2023 MiFarmLink: Cultivating connections to the next generation of farmers - Michigan Farm News
- Cadillac News https://www.cadillacnews.com/news/michigan-farm-link-program-seeking-input-as-services-expand/article_e1f6a8aa-5bda-409a-8511-0b9aefd4ed3e.html
- Michigan Ag Today. Advertisements for farmland listings. News | Michigan Ag Today
- Manchester Mirror MIFarmLink pilot budget funding is a big win for local farmers, ag economy, and land use | The Manchester Mirror
- Berrien County Conservation District Welcome MIFarmLink — Berrien County Conservation District
Links
Connections happen every day on MIFarmLink. This is when a farm seeker or farm owner contacts one another through phone, email, or in person. Both parties exchange information and find out if they will be a match. Often, this will involve a farm visit.
Farm links or land links can take years to permanently change hands, either through a lease or sale of farmland.
Matching farmers to farmland! More Farm Links below.
MIFarmLink worked for Fran Adler. She protected her historic eighty-seven-acre farm in Manchester with a conservation easement in 2012 and wanted to lease part of it to a farmer who shared her commitment to sustainable practices. After conversing with the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, she’d decided to have the farm posted on MIFarmLink. From the site, Adler connected with a number of interested local farmers, but eventually chose Alex Gama.
“To me, the property was a rare gem, and I had to jump on it immediately,” says Gama. He’d moved to Washtenaw in 2023 to start a sheep farm but could only afford a relatively small parcel with a farmhouse for his young family. “The issue is that land is just so expensive,” Gama says, especially with the “huge up-front cost of buying the breeding stock for the sheep.” Adler’s rolling grassland was perfect for sheep. They’re starting with a one-year lease on fifty acres, and Gama hopes “to keep leasing the property long term and grow the business.” Adler, too, hopes it will blossom into a long relationship." [1]
In 2019, the farmland was protected in perpetuity under an Agricultural Conservation Easement. These are the kinds of connections that MIFarmLink fosters here in Washtenaw County and now statewide.
[1]: Provided excerpt from Trilby MacDonald, Ann Arbor Observer (https://annarborobserver.com/mifarmlink/)
Thomas, owner of Cedar Field Farm was looking for new leasers. A certified organic farm with 9 acres along with 6000 sq ft of hoop houses, it already had the set up for a burgeoning farm. Simon and Caitlin lived around the corner. Unbeknownst to them they were neighbors.
They both were on MIFarmLink and made the connection. Now Simon and Caitlin are farmers taking over the CSA and market production for Cedar Field Farm. Read more about them on their website. (https://www.cedarfieldfarm.com/about-us)
