In November, the Illinois FarmLink team presented our Land Access 101 webinar – a two-hour overview that introduces the basics of finding and securing a good land arrangement. That webinar is now available as a YouTube video. We highly recommend beginning farmers watch the webinar to get a basic understanding of a wide range of land access topics. The webinar provides an overview of the following topics and how they all fit together.
The overarching land access context
Leasing vs. purchasing
The five stages of the land access journey
For Sale By Owner and other alternative land access approaches
Tips we’ve learned though four years of advising calls
Illinois FarmLink has been developing this presentation content over the past year through presentations given to attendees of the Farm Beginning’s course at Angelic Organics Learning Center and Food Works. Our favorite part of these presentations is hearing the unique stories of farmers in the audience. Our team is always learning more about land access, and with each new perspective we’re able to tweak our content to better inform beginning farmers.
For our Land Access 101 webinar, we had a diverse audience register representing not only Illinois, but also Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and even India! They brought with them a range of experience with about a third at the beginning of their farming careers, but others with 4-6 or even 10+ years of experience.
“What is always surprising to me is how varied each person’s land access journey and needs are,” said Jeanne Janson, Illinois FarmLink navigator. “In our audience this session we had aspiring farmers interested in alpacas and fiber, an Indiana farmer looking to get connected to resources in his state, and an experienced farmer wondering how to add housing to a property where the landowners wanted to live after retirement. And Illinois FarmLink’s services are designed with all of these folks in mind.”
We encourage you to checkout the recording. Time stamps are located in the video’s description so you can easily navigate to the sections that are most useful. If you have additional questions or seek more specific advice, the Illinois FarmLink team is always here to help. Don’t hesitate to reach out and schedule an advising call by sending an email to jeanne@thelandconnection.org.