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AFT Preparing Trainers to Help Facilitate Transfer
A $750,000 grant will help the American Farmland Trust build skills-based communication curriculum to help transition farmland between families and to a new generation.
Julia Freedgood, director of Farms for a New Generation, tells Brownfield transitioning land is a very sensitive and delicate situation for families and requires technical legal and tax skills along with open communication.
“It’s also a lot on social skills and how do you build understanding and empathy between the generations and the people trying to negotiate these transitions.”
She says the trainings are provided to employees within the Farm Service Agency, Farm Credit system, Cooperative Extension and other partners.
For beginning farmers searching for farmland, the organization also supports land or farm link programs and has resources online to help get them connected.
Timely topic – farm transfer and succession can often be overlooked as a critical issue for the future of agriculture. As Julia’s colleague at AFT and the Farm Legacy Director, I couldn’t agree more with her observation about the need to collectively step up our efforts.