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Farmland Sales Show Little Opening For New Farmers

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Flickr, creative commons

In the next five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects about 10 percent of farmland to change owners. But as Harvest Public Media’s Amy Mayer reports, it’s still going to be tough for new farmers to buy land.

A land ownership survey conducted by the Agriculture Department found that landowners plan to put about half of those acres into trusts. That means it might still be farmed, but won’t be sold on the open market. Gifts, bequests and sales to family members further reduce the amount of farmland available for public purchase.

"It’s still difficult for someone that doesn’t have the relationship or the contacts to come into the farming community," USDA’s Troy Joshua says.

Many beginning farmers may rent land, which can help build those relationships toward a future sale.

Amy Mayer is a reporter based in Ames. She covers agriculture and is part of the Harvest Public Media collaboration. Amy worked as an independent producer for many years and also previously had stints as weekend news host and reporter at WFCR in Amherst, Massachusetts and as a reporter and host/producer of a weekly call-in health show at KUAC in Fairbanks, Alaska. Amy’s work has earned awards from SPJ, the Alaska Press Club and the Massachusetts/Rhode Island AP. Her stories have aired on NPR news programs such as Morning Edition, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition and on Only A Game, Marketplace and Living on Earth. She produced the 2011 documentary Peace Corps Voices, which aired in over 160 communities across the country and has written for The New York Times, Boston Globe, Real Simple and other print outlets. Amy served on the board of directors of the Association of Independents in Radio from 2008-2015.