Matching farmers to farmland! More Farm Links below.
MIFarmLink Publications:
Read about how the Americana Foundation helped lay the foundation for MIFarmLink. https://americanafoundation.org/news-april-11-2023/
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 posting on MIFarmLink, she heard from a number of interested farmers and 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."
Written by Trilby MacDonald, Ann Arbor Observer (https://annarborobserver.com/mifarmlink/)
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, lovingly referred to as CREP found a connection with a local farmer through MIFarmLink! The property is 43 acres of beautiful rolling farmland in Washtenaw County. The owner, Fran Adler and farmer, Alex Gama signed a one-year contract for rotational sheep grazing with the hopes to extend for another year. 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.
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)
