Upcoming Events
Land For Good staff host mixers, workshops and training across the region, typically with local or regional partners. We are also frequent speakers, panel organizers or moderators at other local, regional and national events.
How to Lease Your Land to a Farmer Workshop – complimentary dinner, plus farm tours!
- Have you ever considered making your land available for farming? Farmers in Essex County are looking for land to rent, from a small vegetable plot to livestock or crops. When you make land available to farmers you help secure a future for farming in our region, create economic opportunity, promote food security, and preserve our working landscapes. Understand your land’s potential for farming and what goes into a good farm-leasing arrangement:
– Benefits & opportunities of leasing your land for farming
– Identify your personal, financial and land use goals
– How to find a compatible farmer
– How to craft a lease agreement
Hosted by Greenbelt – Essex County’s Land Trust and Land For Good, this workshop will be followed by a guided bus tour of leased farmlands (Alprilla Farm in Essex, Cedar Rock Gardens in West Gloucester, and Marini Farm in Ipswich) on the morning of Friday, October 26th departing from Essex. Workshop and tour are FREE. Registration is required. You may register for one or both days.
Business Succession in Maine’s Food-Based Economy – complimentary lunch!
November 1, 2018
10:00am – 4:00pm
University of Southern Maine, Abromson Community Education Center, Portland Campus, Register now
- Selling a food-based business while maintaining its essential character and role in the local food economy is no small task. It’s never too early to start planning! Come learn from Maine experts and food-based business owns, farmers, and fishermen who have successfully transitioned their businesses, be it to their employees, their children, or to unrelated buyers. Choose from break-out sessions on worker ownership models, legal and financial considerations, family dynamics, and more. Registration is required for this event. Co-sponsored by the Food Studies Program at the University of Southern Maine, Cooperative Development Institute, Rosemont Market and Bakery, CEI, Maine Farmland Trust, and Land for Good. Registration is required. More info
Farmland Access & Transfer Conference
December 3, 2018
Augusta Civic Center, Augusta ME, More info
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For farm seekers, retiring farmers, landowners & service providers! Join us for a day of practical workshops to better understand the options, resources, and steps to accessing or transferring your farm or farmland. Learn strategies for keeping your farmland in production including how to tackle succession planning, plus how to find and secure farmland of your own, negotiate a good lease agreement, and more. It’s the largest conference in the region focused solely on land access and transfer. The issues, strategies and skills shared at this conference have relevance far beyond Maine. Co-hosted by Maine Farmland Trust and Land For Good. Registration opens soon. Save the date!
This year’s Farm Succession Schools!
Rhode Island Farm Succession School
December 11, 2018
January 9, 2019 and
February 8, 2019
USDA Service Center, 60 Quaker Lane #46, Warwick RI
Each session 10:00am – 3:30pm
More info or Register
New Hampshire Farm Succession School
December 12, 2018
January 10, 2019 and
February 7, 2019
Farm Credit East, 2 Constitution Drive, Bedford NH
Each session 10:00am – 3:30pm
More info or Register
If you’re like most farmers, you know that succession planning is important, but that it’s easy to put off. Get structured and sustained support to make decisions, engage your family, and organize the legal and financial mechanics. Your commitment of three winter days will allow you to develop a concrete succession plan for your farm business, your land and your future.
Topics include:
– Goal setting
– Estate planning
– Retirement planning and budgeting
– Family communications
– Legal structures and considerations
– Bringing on a successor
– Management transfer and mentoring
The fee is $300 per farmer or farm couple, including lunch, refreshments and materials. You’ll get $200 back toward additional succession-related advising. You will also receive no-cost technical assistance between sessions and continuing planning support from Land For Good. Open to all New England Farmers! Learn more about RI Farm Succession School or NH Farm Succession School.
Where We’ve Been
- Decision Making for Your Farm’s Future Workshop, Machias ME, October 2018
- Make Farmland Leasing Work for You & Your Farm Workshop, NOFA-MA Summer Conference, Amherst MA, August 2018
- Land Access Workshop for New Farmers, Lowell MA, July 2018
- Finding Farmland: Tools & Strategies for Affordable Land Access, Unity ME, July 2018
- Panel of Agriculture Support Programs, Northeast Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NEASDA) Annual Meeting, Newport RI, June 2018
- Best Strategies for Keeping Your Farmland in Production, Info Night & Farmer Mixer hosted by CT Farm Bureau, East Windsor CT, May 2018
- Getting Started on a Farm Succession Plan workshop, Saving Special Places Land Conservation Conference, Alton NH, April 2018
- Navigating Your Farms Future: The Basics of Farm Transfer Planning Workshop, Westmoreland NH, March 2018
- NH Farmland Access Info Night & Farmer Mixer, North Hampton NH, March 2018
- MA Real Estate Professional Training: Tools & Resources for Working with Farms with Commercial Agricultural Potential, Greenfield MA, March 2018
- Land Access For Beginning Farmers Workshop, Southeastern Massachusetts Agriculture Partnership (SEMAP) Food & Ag Conference, Dighton MA, February 2018
- Food Security Requires Land Security Panel, Yale Food Symposium, New Haven CT, February 2018
- NH Farm Transfer Planning Workshop, Durham NH, February 2018
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Land Access Bootcamp, Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), La Crosse WI, February 2018
- Farm Succession Planning and Innovative Models for Land Access workshops, NOFA-VT Winter Conference Burlington VT, February 2018
- New England Vegetable & Fruit Conference, Manchester NH, December 2017
- Land Access for Farmers Workshop with New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Lowell MA, December 2017
- Maine Farmland Access Conference, Augusta ME, December 2017
- Leasing Your Land to a Farmer Workshop, Montpelier VT, November 2017
- Leasing Your Land to a Farmer Workshop, West Lebanon NH, November 2017
- Farmland Access Info Night, Bedford NH, November 2017
- Feast on This! Film Festival & Panel Discussion, Keene NH, November 2017
- Increasing Farmland Access and Building Stronger Farms Through Conservation Workshop, NH Association of Conservation Districts’ Working Lands Conference, Keene NH, November 2017
- Farmland Access Info Night, Haverhill NH, October 2017
- Negotiating Leases Workshop, Common Ground Fair, Unity ME, September 2017
- Farm Succession Planning Workshop, Common Ground Fair, Unity ME, September 2017
- Changing Lands, Changing Hands: National Conference on farm & Ranch Access, Tenure, and Transfer, Denver CO, June 2017
- Farm Transfer Planning Workshop; and Farmland Investment Companies: Innovative Partners for Land Access? at National Farm Viability Conference, Albany NY, May 2017
- Farm Succession Advisors Training, Manchester NH, May 2017
- Maine Real Estate Professional Training: Tools & Resources for Working with Farms with Commercial Agricultural Potential, Belfast ME, April 2017
- Farm Succession Planning Workshop, RI Land Trust Council, Tiverton RI, March 2017
- Assessing & Preparing Land for Farming Workshop, Short Course: Moving Onto Your Own Land by Young Farmer Network and Southside Community Land Trust, Providence RI, March 2017
- Farm Succession & Transfer Workshop, Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference, Sturbridge MA, March 2017
- NH Farmland Access & Transfer Info Night, West Ossipee NH, February 2017
- Farm Bill Primer and Listening Session, NOFA-VT Winter Conference, Burlington VT, February 2017
- New & Novel Land Financing Methods, NOFA-VT Winter Conference, Burlington VT, February 2017
- Farm Lease Clinic, NOFA-MA Winter Conference, Worcester MA, January 2017
- Land Access Workshop, Build Your Network, Grow Our Future Conference, New Connecticut Farmer Alliance, Bloomfield CT, December 2016
- Land Access Workshop, Stone Barns Young Farmers Conference, Pocantico Hills NY, December, 2016
- Municipal Land Leasing & Protection Workshop: A Focus on Farmland and Other Land, Greenfield MA, December 2016
- Vermont Farm Succession School, Randolph VT, December 2016
- New Hampshire Farm Succession School, Concord NH, December 2016
- Maine Farm Succession School, Augusta ME, December 2016
- Maine Land Access Conference sponsor, Augusta ME, November 2016
- New England Farmers Union Annual Convention, Windsor CT, December 2016
- Farm Ownership & Transition Workshop, Brunswick ME, November 2016
- Land Access Workshop, Farmer Veteran Stakeholders Conference, East Lansing MI, November 2016
- Connecticut Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, North Haven CT, November 2016
- Working Lands Alliance Annual Meeting, Hartford CT, November 2016
- 2018 Farm Bill – Northeast Perspectives, It Takes A Region Conference, Northeast Sustainable Agricultural Working Group (NESAWG), Hartford CT, November 2016
- Farm Transfer & Succession Planning Workshop, NH Farm Bureau Annual Meeting, Meredith NH, November 2016
- South County Landowners Workshop, South Kingstown RI, November 2016
- Making Land Available for Farming Workshop: A Planner’s Role, Southern New England American Planning Association Planning (SNEAPA) Conference, Worcester MA, October 2016
- Land Access Workshop, National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (invitation only), Cold Spring, NY, October 2016
- Rhode Island Non-Farming Landowner Workshop, Portsmouth, RI, September 2016
- Farmland Access & Tenure Workshop, Common Ground Country Fair, Unity, ME, September 2016
- Building Knowledge & Skills to Assist Farm Seekers & Transitioning Farmers, National Small Farm Conference, Virginia Beach, VA, September 2016
- USDA BFRDP Project Directors Conference, St. Paul, MN, August 2016
- Finding, Assessing, and Securing Farmland Workshop, Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Summer Conference, Amherst, MA, August 2016
- NH Real Estate Professional Training: Tools & Resources for Working with Farms with Commercial Agricultural Potential, Bedford, NH, June 2016
- Planning For The Future of Your Land Workshop, Greenfield, MA, May 2016
- Farm Succession Planning Training for Service Providers, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, May 2016
- Vermont Farmland Access Workshop, White River Junction, VT, April 2016
- Vermont Food Funders Network, Vermont Community Foundation, April 2016
- Keeping Farmland Affordable & Accessible for Farmers Workshop, Saving Special Places, Alton, NH, April 2016
- Land Access, Farming in Community, Sirius Community, Shutesbury MA. April 2016
- Just Food? Forum on Land Use, Rights & Ecology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, March 2016
- Connecticut Land Conservation Council Conference, Middletown, CT, March 2016
- Slow Money Maine Gathering, Gardiner, ME, March 2016
- Gaining Access to Quality Farmland Workshop, CT NOFA Winter Conference, Danbury, CT, March 2016
- NH Real Estate Professional Training: Tools & Resources for Working with Farms with Commercial Agricultural Potential, Enfield, NH, March 2016
- Land Access and Leasing Workshop, SEMAP Annual Ag & Food Conference, Dighton, MA, February 2016
- Farm Transfer Planning Workshop, Suffield, CT, February 2016. slides
- Access to Farmland Workshop, Litchfield Hills Farmer’s Forum, Litchfield, CT, January 2016
- Accessing & Assessing Land Workshop, NOFA Mass Winter Conference, Worcester, MA, January 2016
- Land is Your Legacy Panel, Maine Agricultural Trade Shows, Augusta, ME, January 2016
- Land Access Roundtable, 1st Annual Northeast New Farmer Gathering, Greenfield, MA, December 2015
- Land Access Project Phase 2 Launch Convening, Leominster, MA, December 2015
- Who Holds The Key To The Land? Workshop, NESAWG: It Takes A Region Conference, Saratoga Springs,NY, November 2015
- What Is The Food Movement? And What Is Your Next Move? NESAWG: It Takes A Region Conference, Saratoga Springs NY, November 2015
- Farm Succession Planning Workshop, New Milford, CT, November 2015
- Farmland Access Workshop, Yoder Family Farm, Danby, VT, November 2015
- Investing in Helping Farmers Find a Farm, Harvesting Opportunities Conference, Albany NY, November 2015
- Farm Leasing Workshops, Piedmont Environmental Council, VA, November 2015
- Farmland Access/Transfer Info Night, NH Audubon Center, Concord, NH, October 2015
- Farmland Access Workshop, Bread and Butter Farm, Shelburne, VT, October 2015
- Farmland Access Conference, Pineland Farms, New Gloucester, ME, October 2015
- Understanding Farm Leases Workshop, Common Ground Fair, September 2015
- Addressing Land Access, 2015 BFRDP Project Directors Meeting, Reno NV, September 2015.
- Utopian Solutions, Land and Water Conference, Brown University, Providence, RI, September 2015
-
CROPP Agronomy School, Bangor ME, September 2015
- Farmland Preservation in the Granite State, NH Audubon Society, August 2015
- Finding, Assessing and Securing Farmland Workshop, NOFA-MA Summer Conference, August 2015
- Digging Deeper Conference, Land Access Panel: The Precarity of Transition—Holding Ground for Sustainable Agriculture, Chicago, IL, June 2015
- Webinar Linking Food, Farmer, and Farmland Access, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders Network, June 2015
- Pioneer Valley Grows Spring Forum, LAND: the foundation of a healthy food system, Holyoke, MA, April 2015
- Feeding The Future Conference, Connecticut College, March 2015
- Monadnock Farmland Access Info Night & Farmer-Landowner Mixer, Keene & Jaffrey, March 2015
- Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference, Farmland Access & Transfer Workshop, March 2015
- Farm Succession & Estate Planning Workshop, Essex County, March 2015
- Farm Business Succession Workshop, Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference, Sturbridge, MA, February 2015
- Farmland Seeker Forum, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project and Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP), Dighton, MA, February 2015
- Webinar: Tools for Finding and Assessing Farmland, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, February 2015
- Webinar: Linking Farmers to Land: Alternative Land Access and Tenure, Food Secure Canada and Farm Start, February 2015
- Gaining Access To Quality Farmland, NOFA-CT Getting Started in Organic Farming Conference, New London, CT, January 2015
- Real Estate Training, Tools & Resources for Working with Farms with Commercial Agricultural Potential, Middlebury, VT, January 2015
- Beginning Farmer Resource Network Workshop, Maine Agricultural Trade Show, Augusta, Maine, January 2015
- Planning For The Future of Your Farm Workshop, NOFA-MA Winter Conference, Worcester, MA, January 2015
- New England Farmers Union Annual Convention, Portland, ME, December 2014
- Young Farmers Conference Leasing Clinic, Pocantico Hills, NY, December 2014
- Negotiation and Conflict Management Skills Workshop in partnership with MOFGA and Main Farmland Trust, Augusta, ME, November 2014
- Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition Farmer Mixer Night, Walpole, NH, November 2014
- Innovative Land Financing Mechanisms Workshop, Rutland, VT, November 2014
- Vermont Connection & Conservation, UVM Rubenstein School of Environment & Natural Resources, Burlington, VT, November 2014
- MOFGA’s Farmer to Farmer Conference, Farm Succession Planning Workshop, Northport, ME, November 2014
- Berkshire Farmland Initiative, Farmer-Landowner Mixer (North County & South County) Berkshires, MA, October 2014
- Food Day Fair, Monadnock Food Coop, Keene, NH, October 2014
- American Farmland Trust Conference, Land Access & Affordable Farmland Workshop, Lexington KY, October 2014
- New Economy Week: Who Owns Vermont? Montpelier, VT, October 2014
- Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance (NODPA) Field Days, Stonewall Farm, Keene, NH, September 2014
- National Land Conservation Rally 2014, Providence RI, September 2014
- Common Ground Fair, Unity ME, September 2014
- Farm Succession Information Night, Greenfield MA, June 2014
- Farmland Access in the Berkshires, Pittsfield, April 2014
- OUR LAND: A Symposium on Farmland Access in the 21st Century, Berkeley CA, April 2014
- Agrarian Trust Land Access Principles think-tank, Paicines Ranch CA, March 2014
- Seacoast Land Access Information Night and Farmer Mixer, Hampton NH, March 2014
- Land Financing Mechanisms: New & Novel Approaches to Consider, NOFA-VT Winter Conference, Burlington VT, February 2014
- Build Your Network, Grow Our Future, an event to strengthen Connecticut’s agricultural community, February 2014
- New Young & Beginning Farmer Rap Session, NH Farm and Forest Expo, February 2014
- Accessing Farmland in the Valley – Farmland Access Information Night, Greenfield MA, February 2014
- Finding Land to Farm Workshop, NOFA-NH Winter Conference, February 2014
- Farm Transfer Issues: Passing Farmland to New Farmers,Western Mass Agricultural Commission Gathering #2, January 2014
- Beginning Farmers Resources Network, Maine Agricultural Trades Shows, January 2014
- Leasing and Leases for Farmers and Landowners Workshop, NOFA Massachusetts Winter Conference, January 2014
- Gaining Access to Quality Farmland Workshop, NOFA-CT Getting Started in Organic Farming Conference, January 2014
- Member, Advisory Group, American Farmland Trust-Utah State University Non-Operator Landowner Project, 2013
- Co-organizer and presenter, Regional Land Access Info Nights, multiple locations in NH and MA, 2012 to present
- Presenter, Cooperative Farming, Young Farmer Conference: Reviving The Culture of Agriculture, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Pocantico Hills NY, December 2013
- Presenter, Land Access, Farmland Protection, Farm Profitability, and Keep Berkshires in Farming, Western Massachusetts Winter Agricultural Commission Gathering, Hancock MA, 2013
- Speaker and sponsor, Beginning Farmer Network of Mass. Fall Forum, Charlton MA, November 2013
- Presenter, Transferring the Farm, Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference, Sturbridge MA, 2013
- Presenter, Cooperative Lease Models, Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference, Sturbridge MA, 2013
- Facilitator, Farmland for the Next Generation of Farmers,Harvesting Opportunities in New York: Growing Local Food Economies & Protecting Farmland Conference, American Farmland Trust, Albany NY, November 2013
- Presenter, Negotiation and Conflict Management Skills For Farmers & Landowners, Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association and Maine Farmland Trust, 2013
- Land Access Workshop for Farm Seekers and Land Owners, Augusta ME, 2013
- Land Access workshops, NOFA summer conferences, Amherst MA, 2009 – 2013
- Maine Organic Farmer and Gardener Association (MOFGA) Farmer to Farmer conference, ME, 2012 – 2013
- Farmland Accessibility: A Community Issue, MOFGA Common Ground Fair, Unity ME 2012 & 2013
- Buying vs. Leasing Farmland Workshop for MOFGA Journey Person Program, Unity ME, 2013
- Connecting Farmers With Farmland, Nearing Lyceum , Blue Hill and United ME, 2013
- Finding Your Farm: From Basics to Action, 3rd Annual Young Farmers Conference, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Pontico Hills NY, 2012
- Access to Land, It Takes a Region NESAWG conference, Saratoga NY, 2013
- Leasing Your Land to a Farmer in cooperation with UVM Extension, Vermont Land Trust, Mad River Watershed Conservation Partnership and Small Step Farm, Waitsfield VT 2012
- Leasing Your Land to a Farmer workshops in collaboration with Maine Farmland Trust and Conservation Works, Bremen, Wells and Blue Hill ME, 2012
- National Farm Viability conference, Middlebury VT
- Massachusetts Land Trust conference, MA
- Women in Sustainable Agriculture national conference, VT
- NH Saving Special Places conference, NH
- Non-farming landowner workshops, 15 in all six New England states.
- Transferring the Farm workshops (multiple, 2004 – 2006)
- Massachusetts Association of Agriculture Commissions, MA
- Risk Management Strategies for Beginning and Small Farmers and Ranchers National Conference, 2007
Selected Presentations
- Sponsor, Facilitator and Opening Remarks, Farmland Access and the Importance of Networks for Service Providers, Beginning Farmer Network of MA (BFN/MA) Fall Forum, Charlton MA, Nov. 2013.
- Farmland Access, Tenure and Transfer: Conservation Tool and Context, Panel on Working Lands Conservation, 5th Regional Conservation Partnership Gathering, Nashua NH, Nov. 2013
- Affordability (panel presenter and moderator), Farmland Access and Affordability Forum, Wethersfield CT, Oct. 2013
- Co-Sponsor, organizer and presenter, New England Farmland Convening, Portsmouth NH, May 2013
- Agriculture Trends in MA and New England and Land Conservation, Mt. Grace Conservation Land Trust, Athol MA, 2013
- Land For Good’s Approach to Farmland Access, JUST Land national gathering, Land Stewardship Project, Rochester MN, 2012
- Access to Land for Beginning Farmers, National Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Annual Conference, Rochester MN, 2012
- Leasing Your Protected Farmland for Agricultural Use, Rhode Island Land and Water Summit, Kingston RI, 2010
- Land Access, Leasing, Land Trusts and More, Drake Agricultural Law Center Forum on Beginning Farmers, Washington DC,, 2010
- Farm/Ranch Succession Education, Programs and Services, Changing Lands, Changing Hands national conference, Denver CO, 2009
- Farmland Access and Transfer, Georgia Organics, Atlanta, GA 2009
- Annual conference, Massachusetts Association of Agriculture Commissions 2009.
- What’s the Plan for the Farm?, Michigan Land Use Institute, Traverse City MI, 2007
- Challenges and Opportunities for Small and Beginning Farmers, Small and Beginner Farmers of NH conference, October 2007
