The long-term goal of the project is to dismantle a significant barrier to the establishment and sustainability of farm operations for new and beginning farmers -- difficulty in acquiring land -- by…

This $255,690 Project Grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) will support Athens Land Trust in providing individualized land access and succession planning assistance to new and beginning farmers in Georgia. Athens Land Trust will strengthen the existing Georgia Farmlink online tool for matching farmland seekers with landowners by integrating one-on-one support services for a minimum of 75 participants, with an estimated 60% being socially disadvantaged farmers. Services will include training and tailored assistance to increase successful farmland transfers. While focused in northeast Georgia, partnerships will support similar assistance to farmers statewide. The grant period is from September 1, 2021 through August 31, 2024.

The long-term goal of the project is to dismantle a significant barrier to the establishment and sustainability of farm operations for new and beginning farmers -- difficulty in acquiring land -- by strengthening innovative tools and resources for farmland access, transfer, and succession. Land access is a significant need for beginning farmers in georgia, which is one of the top five most threatened states for loss of working agricultural land. In addition to the logistical challenges posed by a dwindling supply of farmland, this relative scarcity drives up land values and prices, putting access out of reach for many beginning farmers. This also compounds the systemic challenges for socially disadvantaged farmers entering the agricultural field, who have traditionally faced discriminatory practices in accessing federal programs and resources including agricultural credit. Farmer involvement in conceptualizing a solution to this issue is rooted in ALT's history and success in providing 1:1 support to beginning farmers in northeast georgia. Since 2013, we have provided uninterrupted programming through nrcs cooperative agreements, as well as bfrdp and 2501 grants, that focuses on building long-term relationships with beginning farmers in our service network with an emphasis on serving african american farmers. Through these USDA partnerships, athens land trust meets with an average of 50 farmers per year at all stages of their farming career and assists them with farm development, conservation practices, and access to USDA programs. In compiling and assessing farmer input and feedback, we have documented land access as a critical need since our earliest outreach efforts. As a conservation land trust, we have also documented in our work with landowners the desire to preserve agricultural operations on family land when progeny do not continue in the business. However, even aside from barriers such as lack of capital, matching land seekers with landholders is a challenge. In response, in 2018 ALT worked with national and statewide partners to CO-develop georgia farmlink (gafarmlink.ORG). This web tool helps beginning farmers find affordable pathways to farmland ownership and facilitates farmland succession planning through search and matching interfaces for both land seekers and landowners. However, many farmers need support in working through all of the technical aspects of land access and succession planning. In addition, there are ten times as many seekers as land parcels, making IT daunting for many beginning farmers to complete the matching process successfully. The gafarmlink tool can be strengthened by integrating the best practices approach that ALT has employed in eight years of farmer outreach: one-on-one support for farmers and delivery of individually tailored training and assistance to increase successful farmland transfer to beginning farmers in georgia.new and beginning farmers from the state of georgia would be eligible for assistance under this project, with a particular focus on socially disadvantaged farmers. We expect to serve a minimum of 75 unique participants, and we estimate that approximately 60% or more of the program's participants will be socially disadvantaged. Due to athens land trust's mandate as a conservation land trust to work throughout the state of georgia, as well as the accessibility of gafarmlink as a statewide tool for farmland access and transfer, we foresee the ability to provide targeted services to beginning farmers in northeast georgia while building partnerships with organizations throughout the state to support farmers in the same way in other regions. ?