Some of us are guilty of scrolling through real estate websites, perusing properties we have no intention of buying. It’s the biggest version of window shopping you can engage in. Looking at the photos of that eight-bedroom, seven-bathroom mansion on the coast is a fun form of daydreaming.
But when you actually do need to find land – specifically to start farming or gardening or just with enough space for your kids and pets to run around – it can be a little overwhelming trying to find something suitable. That’s where farmlinks come in very handy.
In the Empire State, we have Farmland for a New Generation New York. Coordinated by American Farmland Trust in partnership with New York State, ag organizations, land trusts and others, it’s a matchmaking program that helps farmers seeking land and landowners who want to keep their land in farming.
FNGNY features the New York Farmland Finder website, which includes the listings of available farm properties and farmers seeking land, on-farm jobs, events and resources. This really streamlines things when you’re seeking out something that’s already zoned for agriculture (or has those easements that will keep it in agriculture).
Many states have their own version of FNGNY. The links are listed below:
- The New England Farm Link Collaborative: https://newenglandfarmlandfinder.org/new-england-farm-link-collaborative
- Maine: https://mainefarmlink.org/
- Vermont: https://vermontlandlink.org/
- Connecticut: https://www.ctfarmlink.org/
- Pennsylvania: https://pafarmlink.org/
- New Jersey: https://www.njlandlink.org/
- Maryland: https://marylandfarmlink.com/
- Virginia: https://virginiafarmlink.org/
- North Carolina: https://ncfarmlink.ces.ncsu.edu/
- Ohio: https://heartlandfarmlink.org/search-properties
The beauty of farmlinks is that they build a bridge between new farmers and younger generations of farm families while supporting retiring farmers and other farmland owners in successfully transferring their farms.
If you’ve had success using a farmlink to find your little slice of heaven, let us know! We’d love to share your story.
