With many farmland owners in the Great Lakes region looking to transfer their farms in the next 15 years, American Farmland Trust has set a goal of aiding this effort while reaching 150 farmers and bringing an additional 75,000 acres of conservation practices onto the land by the end of 2026.

American Farmland Trust is creating a training and networking program for Navigator organizations, which will provide services to help farmland owners transfer their land across generations and connect landowners with new farmers looking for land, while expanding conservation practices, including those that protect the ecological health of the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes Farm Navigator Network is supported by the Great Lakes Protection Fund. Staff from 16 organizations across New York, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin will receive the training over the next three years to tailor support to farmers and farmland owners using an innovative, holistic approach that keeps farmland in production and expands conservation practices, according to AFT, which is a national organization based out of Maryland.

“Acquiring farmland and managing it well is a complicated process,” says Ashley Brucker, American Farmland Trust deputy director of agriculture conservation innovations. “We are grateful for the partnership with the Great Lakes Protection Fund to invest in these Navigators to support farmers and streamline access to resources. We expect significant improvement in Great Lakes water quality as farmers add new conservation practices on their land.” 

Support and tools

AFT says women, people of color and LGBTQIA+ people are increasingly becoming the new generation of farmers and farmland owners, despite being historically denied access to land and state and federal resources.

The Navigator Network, according to the organization, aims to help close that gap and give new generations of farm families the support and tools needed to steward the land into the future and improve water quality in the Great Lakes region. 

“There’s no better time for farmers to commit to new practices than when they take on new land,” adds Steve Cole, vice president of programs, Great Lakes Protection Fund.

The Great Lakes Navigator Network will advise, train and support:  

Learn more at farmland.org.