October 11, 2024
Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program Part of National Focus to Help Farmers Protect, Transfer, and Access Land
As the average age of farmers, ranchers, and agricultural landowners continues to climb, the working land they steward is at a moment of seismic transition. It matters how—and to whom—that land transfers.
Skagit County’s ability to sustainably produce food, steward natural resources, and support its rural economy depends on ensuring greater access to land for the next generation of farmers.
Farmland Transfer Succession Support
The Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program is one of only three dozen nationwide public and private land protection leaders who receive grant funding and training as Land Transfer Navigators to aid existing and entering farmers in the land transfer process.
Land Transfer Navigators is a national program developed by American Farmland Trust, with support from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services, to dramatically increase the transfer of farm and ranch land to a new generation of producers. The program catalyzes practitioners from across the country to support equitable farm and ranch transfers that work for both entering and exiting generations.
“Farmland is at the most risk of conversion to non-farming uses during generational transition,” said Commissioner Peter Browning. “The successful transfer of land to the incoming generation is one of the three cornerstones of farmland protection.”
Farm succession planning is the process of determining how a farm operation and the land it sits on is passed to the next family or unrelated operator.
Farmland transfer is a delicate process, one that involves a complex and often emotional combination of legal, economic, and social factors. For many exiting farmers and ranchers, retirement can be a challenge, especially if they do not have heirs who are taking over the farm business. Few farmers can navigate succession planning on their own, and no one service provider has all the expertise.
For aspiring and incoming farmers, particularly those who do not come from farming families, access to affordable land is their biggest barrier.
“Public and private groups on our local landscape have done a tremendous job protecting farmland across Skagit County, safeguarding our rich soils from low-density housing and subdivisions,” said Commissioner Ron Wesen. “To ensure agriculture continues to drive our local economy, connecting our valley’s farmers and ranchers with the next generation of agricultural producers is critical. This allows counties like ours with strong farmland protection to provide even greater support to landowners.”
Skagit County Farmland Legacy Program will host a roundtable event in February 2025 for farmers, farmland owners and incoming farmers to come to the table and voice their needs around farmland succession.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to better serve our county’s farmers and to help bridge the gap between farmland protection and access,” said Commissioner Lisa Janicki. “The trusting relationships our farmland protection staff have nurtured with preservation-minded landowners can serve as a foundation for successful transfer of land between generations.”
Resources
To learn more about the Land Transfer Navigator Grant, visit https://farmland.org/land-transfer-navigators/pnw/.
To access the U.S. Department of Agriculture 2022 Census of Agriculture, visit usda.gov/media/blog/2023/02/22/2022-census-agriculture-impacts-next-generations-farmers.
To learn more about Skagit County’s Farmland Legacy Program, visit skagitcounty.net/farmland. For questions or assistance with farmland succession planning in Skagit County, call (360) 416-1417.
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