ESLC & AFT support family farm transfers with new grant

 

Navigating periods of transition for the farm can be difficult. Family conversations about who will take over the farm are often complicated and emotional. And transferring management to a new family member sometimes involves reconfiguring or modernizing decades of logistics and systems. There are also often unexpected financial costs that can catch a family off guard and stunt the process of a farm operation being handed off from one generation to the next.

Luckily, ESLC is helping Eastern Shore farm families to tackle these obstacles with the support of American Farmland Trust. In addition to local outreach and public interest sessions, ESLC is currently assisting local farm families as they apply for AFT’s Farm & Ranch Transition Support Grants. These grants can award families up to $10,000 to assist in successfully transferring, accessing, or protecting their farm for future generations.

 

What is farm transfer?

Farm transfer is the process of transitioning the various aspects of a farm, such as the land, infrastructure, and the business itself, to its next generation of ownership. The components of each farm transfer are as unique as each family situation. It could occur all at once, or in pieces over time (for example, taking over management of the business and ownership of the equipment, but transferring only a portion of the interest in the land each year). Not all farm transfers are kept within the family. Sometimes the right successor for the land is a new farmer without familial ties, but a shared ethic for stewarding the land. The Farm & Ranch Transition Support Grant covers all these scenarios.

 

Does my family qualify?

There are three requirements that need to be met to qualify for a Transition Support Grant:

1. Applicants must be actively working with a Land Transfer Navigator on a farm or ranch transfer. Applicants will be required to enter the name of their Navigator organization in the application. (Eastern Shore Land Conservancy is an official Land Transfer Navigator!)

2. The land involved in the transfer must be permanently protected, or in the process of becoming permanently protected, with a conservation easement. (If you’re unsure whether or not your land is protected with an easement from ESLC or another organization, ESLC can help you learn more about your property.)

3. Eligible farms must be for-profit and must be able to provide proof of income.

 

What can the grant be used for?

This grant funds projects that facilitate the transfer of a farm. Primarily, the grant covers two types of projects: professional services and equipment or infrastructure costs.  Eligible projects include but are not limited to:

• Hiring a service provider to complete a land survey
• Hiring a business, financial or estate planning consultant to assist with a farm transfer plan, business plan, or finance/loan plan.

For example, a retiring farmer wants to make sure the land is shared fairly among his children, nieces, and nephews, but doesn’t want to divide the farm. He can use the grant to hire an attorney to draft a will and construct an estate that meets his needs.

• Hiring a service provider to support business planning and other services necessary for farmland access or expansion, such as land search planning, property assessment, facilitation, succession planning, or crafting agreements.

A beginning farmer might need a farm business plan in order to qualify for loans and state assistance programs. She can use the grant to hire a business planner, assessing the viability of her operation and finding the right financing to match her cash flow.

• Paying transaction costs associated with securing land to farm. These may include costs associated with purchasing a farm, negotiating a lease agreement, or developing an agricultural conservation easement (e.g. survey, appraisal, etc.)
• Downpayment assistance on a farm transfer or farm loan
• Purchasing farming/ranching equipment or implements essential to transitioning a business.

For example, the successor farmer might want to shift from a grazing operation to grain farming, and needs the grant to assist with the purchase of a pivot irrigation system.

• Improving infrastructure or equipment (e.g. on-farm housing, infrastructure to diversify income streams) necessary to support transition.

In this case, a family farm might put grant funding towards renovating a barn for processing produce, or on-site housing for farmhands.

 

Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis and are reviewed quarterly. That said, grants will only be awarded so long as there is funding, so don’t hesitate to get started! Applicants must be referred by a Land Transfer Navigator Organization such as ESLC, so please reach out to our Easement Stewardship Manager Michael Ports at mports@eslc.org if you are interested in applying.