Access to Farmland: A Systems Change Perspective

Abstract

While the topic of farmers' access to farmland is not a new issue, contemporary conditions have made it an even greater challenge than in the past. In this reflective essay I suggest that the farmland access challenge in the U.S. means thinking outside the box of ingrained cultural values, past historical arrangements, and current conditions. Using my organization, Land For Good, I argue that persistent challenges to farmland access will be addressed best through dialogue and innovation around how farms and farmland can optimally be accessed, held, and passed on. Land For Good, a New England-based not-for-profit organization, posits a systems change framework for farmland access, tenure, and transfer. This essay explores solutions in a broad context and addresses how farm seekers, landowners, service providers, communities, and policymakers all play key roles.

Securing the future of US agriculture: The case for investing in new entry sustainable farmers

“…As niche markets for organic, sustainable, and local foods in urban centers create openings for new direct-toconsumer enterprises, farmers must increasingly chase land in peri-urban and urban fringe environments in order to reach these markets more readily. In an era of rapid suburbanization and exurbanization, these lands are also highly sought after for residential use, and increasingly threatened by other urban encroachments (Ruhf, 2013). The predictable result worsens the land access dilemma for many new entrants: in order to access direct-to-consumer and farm-to-table markets, farmers must operate in spaces of maximum land value (Johnson, 2008).…”

After the Incubator: Factors Impeding Land Access Along the Path from Farmworker to Proprietor

“…In this view, land with the potential to contribute to regional well-being through quality food provisioning would be rezoned and insulated from nonagricultural value. Such a public-policy based approach to overcoming land access barriers is consistent with calls for innovative and place-based land tenure reforms, instead of relying on historical models of farmland transfer (Ruhf, 2013). Incubators might prove ideal tenants or owners of publicly supported farmland, given how they can transparently consider access barriers associated with landowner-beginner farmer dynamics.…”

“…These structural constraints may present particular obstacles for beginning farmers with various social, cultural, or economic vulnerabilities. As Ruhf (2013) notes, "within the beginning farmer demographic, socially disadvantaged, minority, women, immigrant, refugee, and veteran farmers have unique challenges in accessing land to farm" (p. 4; see also Parsons et al, 2010).…”

Farm Seeker Needs Versus Farm Owner Offers: A Comparison and Analysis in the U.S. Midwest and Plains

“…Given that the farm is the family home (Katchova & Ahearn, 2016) and that "movement away from the farm…[is] an often inconceivable act" for older farmers (Riley, 2016, p. 110), then where will an entering farm family reside? This is a tension in the transfer formula that the literature often states is central (Hersey & Adams, 2017;Lobley et al, 2010;Riley, 2016;Ruhf, 2013), but then generally stops short of analyzing the gap. Our findings spotlight the need for much more research and policy innovation to support adequate options for incoming farmers who wish to reside on the farm.…”

“…Food system innovation and agricultural productivity can benefit from improved farm transfers (Leonard, B., Kinsella, O'Donoghue, Farrell, & Mahon, 2017;Ruhf, 2013). Agricultural programs and policies, known as farm link programs, for over three decades have implemented a range of strategies to assist farm families in transferring their land to farmers of the next generation (Valliant, Ruhf, Gibson, Brooks, & Farmer, 2019).…”