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Every year, America loses 1.2 million acres of farmland - an area twice the size of Rhode Island - much of it our best and most productive farmland near where most Americans live. In Massachusetts and across the nation, AFT is a vital link between farmers, conservationists and policymakers, working to protect the best farmland , direct growth away from agricultural resources, provide healthy local food to all citizens, and help communities sustain local farms and farming.
What's New
 American
Farmland Trust and Land for Good’s Farmland
Advisors program is educating agriculture service providers to help the next generation
of farmers access land and help farm families facilitate the transfer to
the next generation. Farmland Advisors started in February with a webinar for
the program’s 80
participants, from New York and New England. The program is funded by a grant from the Northeast SARE Professional Development Program
and support from a Farm Credit
Northeast AgEnhancment grant. Participants represent land trusts,
beginning farmer organizations, extension offices, lending institutions and
local and state agencies.
 A recent
retreat organized by American Farmland Trust brought together more than 50 of
the region’s leading farmland protection practitioners, including state agency
staff, USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) State Conservationists and
program managers, and land trust representatives, to brainstorm farmland protection
challenges and strategies and discuss the federal Farm and Ranch Lands
Protection Program (FRPP). Joining the group were New Hampshire Commissioner of
Agriculture Lorraine Merrill, Connecticut Commissioner of Agriculture Steve
Reviczky, and three guests from the national USDA-NRCS office, including
Richard Sims, NRCS Regional Conservationist for the Northeast, and Jeremy
Stone, the national FRPP program manager. Cris Coffin, American Farmland Trust
New England Director, notes that AFT is working to make this retreat an annual
event. “This kind of regional shoptalk is invaluable both in helping to
strengthen relationships and in advancing farmland protection innovations around
the region,” remarks Coffin.
 The transfer
of farms to a new generation is one of the biggest challenges facing agriculture
in New York and New England. Farmland Advisors is a training program to help agriculture and
conservation professionals become an effective resource in helping farmers and
farmland owners as they seek access to land and navigate the complexity of farm
transfers. “Participants will learn about everything from farm succession
planning to farm linking, lease options and land conservation as a farm
transfer strategy,” said Diane Held, Senior New York Field Manager for
American Farmland Trust. “Land access and availability are increasingly
impacting farms and food systems in the region,” added New England Director Cris
Coffin, “Working with professionals across the Northeast will help to meet
these challenges at the state level.” Applications
are now being accepted. The deadline to apply is October 31.
 A
vibrant and viable food system in New England requires a supportive public
policy environment. For this reason,
American Farmland Trust is teaming up with the Conservation Law Foundation and
the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group to identify the policy
levers that will support improved farm profitability, expanded food production
and the agricultural infrastructure needed to improve regional food
resiliency. Drawing upon expertise and
experience of leaders and practitioners across New England, this two-year project will focus on federal, state and regional policy arenas, analyzing policy
barriers and gaps in five key areas and recommending where change is most
needed, at what level and scale, and what kinds of advocacy might be most
effective.
 Building on work done
through the New England Commission on Land Conservation and its Farm and Food
Security Initiative, American Farmland Trust is bringing together farmland
experts from around New England to explore ways in which the region might work
collaboratively to keep farmland in farming. The six New England state “Chief
Agricultural Officers” and the six state USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Offices are key partners in
this effort, as is Land For Good. The
project will include a “shop talk” for farmland protection practitioners and a
convening for farm and conservation stakeholders, federal and state agencies,
and public and private funders. Cris
Coffin, New England Director at American Farmland Trust, believes that regional
collaboration is critical to retaining and growing the region’s farmland base. “Every
state in the region is in some stage of farm and food system planning and, not
surprisingly, land access and availability are emerging as key and common needs,” says Coffin. “We will be better able to tackle these challenges at the
state level if we learn and work together as a region.”
 Investing in the state’s working farms and forests was a high priority of Governor Deval Patrick’s administration in 2011, according to a report just released by the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. With $10.7 million, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources permanently conserved 1,059 acres of productive farmland through the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program, much of it in the Connecticut River Valley. The Farm Viability Enhancement Program helped 19 farms develop business plans, and placed another 1,949 acres of farm and forest land under agricultural covenant. Cris Coffin, New England Director for American Farmland Trust, is concerned that these numbers will be less robust going forward if the Patrick Administration sticks to plans to reduce funding for the APR and Farm Viability programs in 2013. “As the report makes clear, these programs are helping to grow jobs and revenues in communities across Massachusetts,” explains Coffin. “We urge the Patrick Administration—as 29 state legislators did this spring—to maintain its current commitment to these programs.”
 The Northeast is home to nearly 64 million people, with a population
density five times the national average. According to a just-released Farm
Bill Agenda for the Northeast [PDF], this urban influence has made
federal conservation programs critically important in the region. The agenda
includes four major priorities for the Conservation Title of the Farm Bill,
including adequate conservation technical assistance; continued robust,
mandatory funding for conservation programs focused on working farms and
forests; appropriate conservation program flexibility to address state and local
resource concerns and priorities; and continued funding for on-farm energy
efficiency and renewable energy production. American Farmland Trust collaborated
with the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture
Working Group (NESAWG) and other state and regional farm, food and
conservation organizations on developing the Agenda’s conservation priorities.
Concerned by the decision of the Patrick Administration to cut funding for the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program this year, 29 Massachusetts state senators and representatives recently urged the Governor and Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rick Sullivan to restore funding for the program in 2013. Legislators were briefed on potential impacts of the Administration’s decision by Cris Coffin and others who attended the annual Agriculture Day at the State Capitol. “We are incredibly grateful to those legislators who weighed in with Governor Patrick and Secretary Sullivan on this issue,” says Coffin. She urges those who care about the protecting APR program to follow suit and be in contact with the governor’s office and their own state legislators.
As Congress begins the farm bill reauthorization process, we’re partnering with other New England organizations to help demonstrate how this bill affects food, the environment and communities in the region. At the recent Let’s Talk about Food event at the Boston Museum of Science, we discussed the importance of farm bill conservation programs to New England’s environment, economy, communities and public health. We also took part in Farm Fresh RI’s Local Food Forum, where we were honored to join Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME), one of four House Agriculture Committee members from New England, who talked about her Local Farm, Food and Jobs Act. This legislation, introduced jointly with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and sponsored by Senators Leahy (D-VT), Sanders (I-VT) and Shaheen (D-NH), would improve federal farm policy and programs that support local and regional food systems.
We were pleased to welcome Kip Kolesinskas to our New England office as our new Conservation Scientist. Kip
joins us from a long and successful tenure with USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service for Connecticut and Rhode Island. From 1995 to
2011, he managed the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection program in
Connecticut, which contributed $38.6 million to protect more than
10,000 acres of farmland. (Read more about Kip)
U.S. Reps. Jim McGovern and Chellie Pingree spoke about prospects for farm bill programs important to the Northeast in a two-webinar series we hosted with Wholesome Wave, Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and New England Farmers Union. One webinar looked at conservation programs, including potential changes and funding cuts to the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and the future of the regional equity provision. The other covered prospects for helping to rebuild local and regional food systems. Speakers also included senior staff to Senator Patrick Leahy along with New Hampshire Agriculture Commissioner of Agriculture Lorraine Merrill and Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture Scott Soares. Recordings of the webinars, along with more information about the farm bill, are available at farmbillfacts.org.
Another year has come to pass and with it a list of successes—and challenges—impacting farms and food across New England. 2011 was marked by unusual weather, underscoring theneed for effective policies and programs to keep farms thriving despite the inherent risks and to help support strong local food systems.
This year, we worked with a wide variety of partners throughout New England to promote the critical importance of farms and farmland to New England’s economy, environment, public health, community character and livability. Here are a few highlights from our work across the region. Read more about our accomplishments from the past year in New England and see a snapshot of what lies ahead.
Farm Transfer Training Through New England Land Access Project
 Do you help farm families address farm succession and transfer planning? If so, you may be interested in a training being offered on November 17 by the Farm Transfer Task Force of the Land Access Project. The training is intended to guide farm transfer planning practitioners through best practices, planning approaches and challenges, use of farm transfer planning teams, and farm transfer planning resources in the region. For more information or to register for the workshop, visit the Land For Good website.
Looking for Land Trusts Engaged in Farmland Protection
 Are you a
land trust protecting farmland within a 100-mile radius of Boston
or New York City?
If so, the Connecticut-based 1772 Foundation is looking to help you. The
foundation is offering grants to land trusts for three general purposes:
land protection; capacity building, including membership building, planned giving
programs and training; and internal revolving loan funds to cover transaction
costs. In addition to meeting the geographic criteria, land trusts must have a
primary interest in farmland protection and have adopted the Land Trust Alliance’s
Standards and Practices. Letters of inquiry are due by February 12,
2012.
 New Courses for Current and Aspiring Massachusetts Farmers
The
Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is offering three different
agricultural business courses for established and aspiring farmers this winter.
The courses include an Explorer course for those thinking about getting
into farming or expanding from a hobby farm into a commercial enterprise; Planning
for Start-Up aimed at those ready to plan their commercial enterprises; and Tilling the Soil of Opportunity for those who have been farming at least
two years and need to create a comprehensive business plan. The courses will be
offered from January through March of 2012.
Celebrating the Community Preservation Act in Boston
The Community Preservation Act (CPA) has been instrumental in helping Massachusetts communities protect farmland and other open space. On September 27, we joined other advocates at the State House in Boston to celebrate the act’s 10th anniversary and encourage lawmakers to act on House Bill 765, which allows communities that have adopted the CPA to continue to receive an annual minimum distribution of state matching funds. We recognized 10 individuals who have been significant contributors to the success of the program, including Bob Wagner, our Senior Policy and Program Advisor, who has been deeply involved in efforts in his home town of Hatfield, Massachusetts, and around the Pioneer Valley.
 We recently welcomed Leah Mayor to our New England Office, where she will serve as the Working Lands Alliance Project Director and New England Project Manager. Mayor brings an extensive background in education and community leadership, as well as experience with sustainability initiatives focused on food and agricultural systems. Her work has focused on leveraging enthusiasm of a growing local foods movement to protect farmland, natural heritage and artisanal traditions. Mayor is also the founder and principal of Taking Root, an ecotourism initiative devoted to stimulating local economies, building community viability, and celebrating our connections to food and culinary history. Please join us in welcoming Leah!
 The No Farms No Food® message was well received by lawmakers at the recent “Ag Day” held at the Massachusetts State House. These days represent key opportunities to celebrate agriculture and highlight the importance of farmland preservation to lawmakers.
On April 7, we met with Massachusetts lawmakers, reminding them how important our farms and farmland are to our economy, environment, and food security. We were excited that Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard Sullivan highlighted Governor Patrick’s continued commitment to funding for farmland preservation, and that Governor Patrick used the day to announce appointments to the new Massachusetts Food Policy Council—which has been a high priority for us.
Read the 2011 Agriculture Day Legislative Priorities [PDF]
Over the last 12 months we have been involved in some exciting projects that are helping to revitalize New England’s food system, improve our agricultural economy, and protect and retain our vital farmland. Read a few highlights from 2010
To help determine what land is and is not being protected through the Massachusetts Agricultural Preservation Restriction program, we teamed up with the Massachusetts Farm Bureau to survey Farm Bureau members. More than 90% of the respondents had not applied for the program in the past five years. Land ineligibility; concern over program changes or possible constraints on the land once enrolled; and a sense that the program is unable to pay what the restriction is worth were among the top reasons farmers shied away from the farmland preservation program. These and other research findings will be presented to the state Agricultural Lands Preservation Committee in late November.
 Find More on MA's APR Program at our MA Farmland Protection Tools page.
Massachusetts Policy Update
We recently joined legislators and other organizations to testify in support of changes to the Community Preservation Act, the Commonwealth’s program that supports community-level land protection, affordable housing and historic preservation efforts. The proposed legislation would ensure that participating communities receive at least 75 percent of what they raise locally in state matching funds. The Community Preservation Act has been a critical source of supplemental funding for farmland protection projects in Massachusetts by helping communities raise the money needed to protect more than 38 farmland parcels through the state’s Agricultural Preservation Restriction program.
FOcus on Massachusetts
A Northeast grocery chain has become the first retailer to join forces with the New England Dairy Promotion Board and New England Family Dairy Farms Cooperative to bring the concept of “fair trade” milk to consumers. Hannaford's 71 stores will promote the benefits of local dairy farms—including stewardship of the region’s farmland—and offer shoppers an opportunity to directly support dairy farmers through the “Keep Local Farms” dairy campaign. Cris Coffin, American Farmland Trust’s New England Director, is excited by the Hannaford announcement: “Educating shoppers about the value of our region’s dairy farmers will hopefully encourage them to donate to the campaign and help farmers receive a better price for their milk.”
Contact Us
New England Field Office
Cris Coffin, New England States Director
1 Short Street, Suite 2
Northampton, MA 01060-3952
(p)413-586-9330 ext. 29
(f)413-586-9332
ccoffin@farmland.org
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Massachusetts’ Community Preservation Act Needs a Boost 
