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MIFarmLink plans for expansion after securing USDA beginning farmer funding

New federal funding is helping to increase farmland connections and transfers across Michigan.

Michigan FarmLink Program Director Jill Dohner tells Brownfield, “The whole point of Michigan FarmLink is to be proactive about securing and protecting our farmland, and in essence our farmers as well as a profession.”

A $750,000 USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program grant will help expand farm business planning resources, land-transfer opportunities, and the organization’s free digital land-linking platform.

Dohner says funding is also building networks between beginning and experienced farmers with the MI Farm Mentors Program, in partnership with Michigan State University Extension.

“Whether they’re new generation or not, sometimes that mentorship piece is really needed,” she shares. “And, I think it helps landowners as well feel a little bit more comfortable about having a younger farmer on their land, having that kind of slower mentorship process.”

She says the “Passing the Plow” initiative prioritizes keeping farmers and their land in production while strengthening local farm economies long into the future.

MIFarmLink is a statewide program of the Michigan Association of Conservation Districts.