New York Times Feature: Young Farmers are losing land to wealthy buyers
This morning, the National Young Farmers’s Coalition’s One Million Acres for the Future campaign was featured in the New York Times. The article, “How ‘Fairy Tale’ Farms Are Ruining Hudson Valley Agriculture,” illustrates how “A rush of wealthy urbanites seeking fresh-air retreats in bucolic settings” has made land access for young and BIPOC farmers across […]
Keeping Young Farmers on the Land in COVID-19
Part I: Land in Crisis This post is part of a three-part series on the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on land access and security for farmers. The first post outlines potential impacts of the crisis on farmland; the second provides strategies to help keep farmers on the land; and the third suggests potential policy […]
New Tools For Young Farmers Seeking Land
Thinking about buying or renting land? Check out our free Finding Farmland Calculator and Online Course to compare financing options, analyze costs, and understand what you can afford. También en Español! Land access is the number one challenge In 2017, the National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) surveyed more than 3,500 young farmers and ranchers […]
RELEASE: NYFC Publishes Report Calling on New York State to Make State Protected Farmland Affordable for Farmers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Kate Bittman, kateb@youngfarmers.org / (917) 915-3350 National Young Farmers Coalition Publishes Report Calling on New York State to Make State Protected Farmland Affordable for Farmers “Farmland for Farmers – Working Farm Easements as a Tool to Keep New York Farmers on the Land” calls on New York State to prioritize funding for conservation […]
RELEASE: In Wake of Rising Farmland Prices and Loss of Farmland, National Young Farmers Coalition, Land Trusts, American Farmland Trust, and New York Farm Bureau Back the Working Farm Protection Act
Albany, NY (May 2, 2018) – The National Young Farmers Coalition, along with its New York chapters, New York Farm Bureau, American Farmland Trust, and land trusts from around the state, celebrate Assembly member Didi Barrett (D-106) today for taking a stand for farmers with the introduction of the Working Farm Protection Act. The Act would strengthen the New York State Farmland Protection Implementation Grant Program by funding conservation easements that make farmland permanently affordable to working farmers.
“Farmland ownership is the foundation of a successful farm,” says Lindsey Lusher Shute, Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition and co-owner of Hearty Roots Community Farm in Clermont, “but in today’s real estate market, selling vegetables or raising livestock doesn’t pay the mortgage. If we want working farms in this state, we must take action to ensure that the price of protected farmland is affordable to the farmers who need it. Without addressing farmland affordability and the needs of the farmers working the land, the farmland protection program will not fully realize its intended purpose. As non-farmers buy these parcels and bid up the price for land, the farmers will leave and our farm communities will be lost.”
RELEASE: National Young Farmers Coalition teams up with renowned data visualization firm to help farmers buy land
Free educational site offers first-of-its-kind land affordability calculator
HUDSON, NY – Oct. 16, 2017 – Finding Farmland (http://findingfarmland.youngfarmers.org), a new website that offers educational tools to help young farmers address the top obstacles to starting a farm— access to both land and capital—was launched today by the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) and Fathom Information Design. Features include a first-of-its kind land affordability calculator that makes it easy for farmers to learn about options for financing farmland and tools, such as easements, to help make it more affordable.
RELEASE: National Young Farmers Coalition applauds confirmation of Sonny Perdue as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
Farmers and rural communities need strong leadership in President’s cabinet
HUDSON, NY (April 24, 2017) — The National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC), the only national advocacy organization solely dedicated to supporting America’s young farmers and ranchers, congratulated former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue on his confirmation as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.