Emerging Farmers

The Emerging Farmers project is a proactive approach to address the need to reach out to emerging farmers and future landowners. We define an emerging farmer as someone with ties to agricultural land who would like to return to the farm as an operator or have a voice in its management.

A goal of this innovative project is to help address a variety of social factors influencing the adoption of conservation practices and assist emerging farmers in the creation of a sustainable business plan for their operation.  According to the USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service’s 2014 Tenure, Ownership and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey, in Iowa:

  • 1/2 of the land is rented or leased

  • Owner/operators make up 19.4% of landowners – 40% of landowners have never farmed before

  • Forty percent of agricultural land is owned by women, with 33% by women over age 65

  • By 2019, ~9% of all the agricultural land will be transferring ownership and ~9% put into a will

This large transference of land and significant demographic shift in Iowa’s agricultural land management and ownership calls for new approaches to conservation outreach and education.

Partners

Iowa Learning Farms
Seth Watkins
Nathan Anderson
Iowa Beef Center
Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Community and Economic Development
Beginning Farmer Center
Practical Farmers of Iowa

Materials & Resources

The following materials and resources have been developed as a part of this project.

Featured
Talking With Your Tenant Series
Talking With Your Tenant Series

Discussing a new conservation practice with your tenant can be challenging. To help begin the conversation, we created a new publication series with talking points and relevant research findings about specific conservation practices.

Talking With Your Landlord Series
Talking With Your Landlord Series

Discussing a new conservation practice with your landlord can be challenging. To help begin the conversation, we created a new publication series with talking points and relevant research findings about specific conservation practices.

Sustainable Business Templates
Sustainable Business Templates

A business model will help you stand out as a strong emerging farmer to potential landlords, lenders, and customers. It will also give you a pathway as you start your farming journey.