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VISION�An Iowa with healthy soil, healthy food, clean air, clean water, resilient farms, and vibrant communities.

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MISSION�Equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities.

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    • Farmers leading the exchange of experience

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    • Welcoming everyone

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    • Curiosity, creativity, collaboration and community

CORE VALUES

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Farmer-led Education�Annual Conference�Field Days�

Farmer-led Research

Cooperators Meeting

Research Trials

Farm Viability

Cost-Share

Cover crops

Habitat Incentives Cost Share

N Rate Risk Reduction Program

Grazing Infrastructure Cost Share

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Martha McFarland

Senior Farmland Viability Coordinator

martha.mcfarland@practicalfarmers.org

Land access, farm transitions, new tenancies

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The #1 Barrier for Beginning Farmers:

Access to Land

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National average: $4,080/A

Iowa average: $10,100/A

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Iowa Farmland Ownership and Tenure Survey

In 1982, only 29% of Iowa farmland was owned by those over the age of 65.

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In 2017, it was 60%

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In 2022, it was 66%

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Iowa Farmland Ownership and Tenure Survey | Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology (CSSM) (iastate.edu)

Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (iastate.edu)

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58% of Iowa’s farmland was leased in 2022.

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In 2017, this was 53%

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  • A relative increase of roughly one million acres over five years.

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2022 Iowa Farmland Ownership and Tenure Survey https://www.card.iastate.edu/

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Iowa Farmland Ownership and Tenure Survey

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American Farmland Trust, 2020

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Aging landowners -  66% of landowners are over 65 years.

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Market Value = Millions of dollars for heirs or passive Income

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Who can afford to buy land? The ones who already have it.

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Farming operations feel pressure to extract as much profit as possible from every acre.

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The Realities of Farmland Access:

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We know that land transition is imminent in the next 30 years. We know an increasing number of landowners will be nonfarmers��….The surprise within our network?�� Farmers and landowners seeking matches far outnumber the land seekers.

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�...care about their land and legacy�...want to continue environmental stewardship�..want to connect with a like-minded beginning farmer�...want to move beyond corn/soybeans to see food grown on the farm and livestock on the land�

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PFI Landowners and Retiring Farmers

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The barriers to land access matches

Is it the right time at the right place?

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800, 80, or 8 acres…

$11 million, $1 million, or $100,000...

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800 acres in central Iowa�

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  • Heirs want to support a beginning farmer​, would love to see livestock and other regenerative practices
  • Crop share​- 40/60
  • House and outbuilding for livestock available

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 Land Sale- Landowners would like to sell to tenant�

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  • $14,000 per acre=1.6 million for 120 ac

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  • Farmer working with his father-in-law, doesn't own any land in his name. Has been farming more than 10 years

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  • Can they get a loan? Can they afford to continue conservation practices when they need top $$ to make loan payments?

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  • Production value vs. Market Value

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12 acres near Des Moines �

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  • Landowner gets $300 an acre
  • Wants to support vegetable production.
  • Needs

Trench water lines

Electric

Pack shed and Cooler ​

  • Long-term tenure?

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 Challenges� �

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  • Landowners and retiring farmers lack guidance and knowledge to make a successful non-familial transition

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  • Do are not/or do not feel financially equipped to make improvements on their land or employ a beginning farmer to train them.

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  • Want to keep the farm in the family

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And once the match is made...

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The real work begins.

How do you build trust between strangers?

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What structures exist for transition of a farm business?

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Practical Farmers of Iowa Approaches:

Educate & Provide support for growing businesses

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  • Farmer-led Education – Conference Sessions and Webinars

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  • Labor 4 Learning

   Experience for beginning farmers

   Matches retiring farmers with beginning farmers

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  • Savings Incentive Program

   2 year saving match and support for business planning

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  • Produce Safety Cost Share

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PFI Approaches cont...

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Provide Coaching & Technical Support for Farmland Access

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  • Farmland Access Navigators

  PFI members contracted through PFI

  Coach land seekers on land readiness goals and strategies to   find land

 

  • 1:1 Matching

  PFI staff working within the network to make connections

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  • Mediation Support after matching

  Communication strategies

  Support developing structures to support the transition

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  • $ Support for Lawyers, tax accountants, and assessors

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Additional Challenges �Housing�Employment & Health Insurance in the first years   of a transition�Financing for land purchases or more    Buy.Protect.Sell options

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Q&A

Martha McFarland

Senior Farmland Viability Coordinator

martha.mcfarland@practicalfarmers.org

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