Are you interested in alternative land access and tenure, and alternative business structures? Join NOFA-VT and guest presenters from around the country and Canada for a monthly discussion exploring alternative land access models and business structures. Each month, we’ll hear from an agricultural project actively engaged in land access or land tenure outside of conventional mechanisms, with a specific focus on first-generation, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ farmers and land stewards.
Presentations will provide an overview of the land access story and business model, sharing details and mechanics of each project, with time devoted to Q&A.
With the cost of land rising to a level that makes farming inaccessible to those without agricultural backgrounds or generational wealth, we’ll be asking questions about decommodifying land, working cooperatively, fundraising, building community, creating legal structures, and more. Throughout the series, we aim to build a network of landholders, land seekers, community members, and service providers looking to reimagine existing structures and rebuild resilient agricultural communities that work for everyone.
For this eighth session on March 10, we'll be talking with West Branch Commons, the inaugural Land Access project of Catskills Agrarian Alliance. They are working to transform a 287-acre dairy farm into a community land trust that offers long-term, affordable land access to queer and trans, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (QTBIPOC) farmers via long-term ground leases.
Farmers, land stewards, service providers, and others interested in creative solutions are invited to join!
