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Every year, America loses 1.2 million acres of farmland, much of it our best and most productive farmland near where most Americans live. In Maine 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.
 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.
 The November 6 election brought welcome news for New England’s farmland owners, as
voters in Rhode Island and Maine overwhelmingly supported ballot initiatives to
finance state farmland protection programs. In Rhode Island, nearly 70 percent
of voters approved $20 million in “Environmental Management” bonds, including
$4.5 million for farmland protection. And in Maine, voters approved a $5
million bond replenishing funding for the Land for Maine’s Future Program,
which has permanently protected more than 7,300 acres of productive farmland
around the state. “Landowners continue to rely on these programs to finance
retirement, transfer the farm to the next generation or expand the farm
business,” says Cris Coffin, New England Director for American Farmland Trust. “Voters
clearly understand that these programs are good investments in our environment
and economy.”
 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 the 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.”
 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.
Federal Farm Policy and the farm bill
What’s in the farm bill and why is it important? Find out what’s next for the farm bill and how we can make sure the legislation's promises are turned into programs on the ground. how much agriculture contributes to the state's economy.
More Maine News
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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