FINDING FARMLAND COURSE
Lesson 1: Financial Decision Making for Land Access
READ | Welcome to the course
Welcome to the National Young Farmers Coalition’s Finding Farmland Course, a one-stop shop to guide you through the financial decisions related to accessing farmland.
We expect every participant to arrive at this course with their own unique collection of knowledge and skills, so please feel encouraged to jump around between lessons to find the content that’s most useful to you. Accessing farmland is not a linear process, and neither is this course–treat it like a reference book.
The Finding Farmland Calculator, another Young Farmers project, serves as a companion tool throughout the course. Watch the walkthrough video below for an introduction to the Calculator, or try it out yourself at findingfarmland.org.
Before you get started, please complete the pre-course survey in the Get Started section below, and answer the brief survey questions in future lessons. It will really help us improve our work.
Any questions? Share them in the comments section within each lesson to start a conversation with others taking the course, or email our team directly at land@youngfarmers.org.
Good luck!
GET STARTED | Pre-evaluation
Please complete this pre-course evaluation before you begin the other lessons. Your responses will be used to help us improve this course and in mandatory reporting to USDA.
WATCH | Calculator Walkthrough: Introduction
Looking for more help? This video explains just one aspect of using the Finding Farmland Calculator. Find all of the instructional videos at youngfarmers.org/calculator.
Practice
Before you start the next lesson, download the Farmland Access Tool, a resource created by the Land Stewardship Project.
Read Section 1: Visioning, then complete the activities that will help you articulate your holistic farm vision.
A holistic farm vision is an important starting point for this course, and for making financial decisions related to land access more generally. Be sure to include your partner(s) in this process too!
Do you have a question about this lesson?
Ask it in the comment box below and our expert team will get back to you. Questions and responses posted here will be public.
If you prefer to reach out privately, email land@youngfarmers.org.