NY FarmNet, Hudson Valley Farmlink Network Collaborate to Support Hudson Valley Farmers
February 22, 2021
Free, confidential, and impartial services available to New York farmers include:
Assisting current farmland owners in developing accurate farm profiles on the Farmland for a New Generation website, administered by American Farmland Trust.
Succession planning guidance for existing farmers looking to retire or transition.
Business planning assistance for beginning farmers to evaluate the feasibility of starting a farm enterprise, and assistance in assessing available properties.
Facilitating meetings between farmland owners and beginning farmers when mutual interest in collaboration or sale/lease is identified.
Family and personal consulting services, provided confidentially by a qualified social worker, to address issues such as communication, life after farming, accessing community resources, and facilitating family/business meetings.
Consultations with NY FarmNet consultants take place over the phone, through video conference, or in person. All types of farmers in New York State are eligible. If you are interested in learning more or requesting any of these free, confidential, and impartial services, please contact NY FarmNet by calling 1-800-547-3276 or filling out a contact form at www.help.nyfarmnet.org/contacts/new
“This project is a great opportunity for NY FarmNet to highlight and strengthen our business and succession planning services in the Hudson Valley,” said Amelia Parseghian, Program Coordinator for NY FarmNet. “Facilitating the transfer of land, helping farmers develop a well thought out succession plan, and supporting new and beginning farmers as they work to access land and create a business plan are critical supports needed to keep productive land in agriculture, and support the next generation of farmers in the Hudson Valley.”
NY FarmNet and the Hudson Valley Farmlink Network/American Farmland Trust are working together on this project. American Farmland Trust hosts an online matching service for landowners and land seekers, while NY FarmNet offers business and family consulting services. Counties included in the Hudson Valley region, and this specific project, include Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Saratoga, Sullivan, Ulster, Washington, and Westchester, though NY FarmNet services and the American Farmland Trust matching site cover the entire state.
This project is supported by the Hudson Valley Farmlink Network, which is coordinated by American Farmland Trust and has received primary funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. NY FarmNet was founded by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University in response to the national 1980s farm crisis. NY FarmNet still operates at Cornell as part of the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management, which is part of both Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the SC Johnson College of Business. If you are interested in making a donation to NY FarmNet, visit www.nyfarmnet.org and click the banner across the top. Contact Amelia Parseghian, Program Coordinator, ako9@cornell.edu with any questions or for more information.
