Farmer linking programs

PAM KASEY (ehansen@garnet.berkeley.edu)
Wed, 13 Dec 1995 20:41:48 -0800

I posted a question a month or so ago about the Land Link program at
Nebraska's Center for Rural Affairs, and got responses that were enormously
helpful. Many thanks! My subsequent research led me to find that there are
currently 16 programs in the country. These programs, to various degrees of
proactiveness, are preserving agricultural land and rural communities by
helping to make connections between retiring farmers and entering farmers
for the purposes of passing on land; farm transfers often come about
through creative financing arrangements that meet both farmers' needs, and
also sometimes result in deeper relationships that may include mentoring.
In case anyone is interested in learning more about these innovative
programs or passing this information along, I am including the contact list
below. (This information was taken from a fuzzy fax, and may include a few
incorrectly interpreted characters):

FARMER LINKING PROGRAMS, 12/95

CALIFORNIA
Ag Link
PO Box 1
Ballico CA 95303
(800) 588-LINK
(209)634-8849
Jana Barstow

ILLINOIS
Prairie Farmer Farm Connection
PO Box 3217
Decatur IL 62524
217/877-9070
Michael Wilson, editor

IOWA
Farm-On
Iowa State University Extension
10861 Douglas, Suite B
Urbandale IA 50322-2022
800/747-5465
515/270-6803
John Baker or Margaret Van Ginkel

MICHIGAN
Michigan Farm Link Program
Michigan Farm Bureau
Young Farmer Department
7373 West Saginaw Highway
PO Box 30960
Lansing MI 48909-8460
517/323-7000
Ernie Birchmeier
Rich Bowman* did research on getting legislation

MINNESOTA
Minnesota Farm Connection
Rural Finance Authority
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
90 West Plato Blvd.
St. Paul MN 55107
612/297-3557
Lori Singer

Passing on the Farm Project
Southwestern Technical College
1593 11th Avenue
Granite Falls MN 56241
800/657-3247
612/564-4511
Ivan Anderson

NEBRASKA
Land Link/Center fo Rural Afairs
PO Box 406
Walthill NE 68067-9900
402/846-5428
Joy Johnson

NEW ENGLAND
New England Land Link
New England Small Farm Institute
PO Box 608
Belchertown MA 01007
413/323-4531
Kathy Ruhl

NEW YORK
New York Farm Link Program
Cornell Cooperative Extension
Department of Agricultural Economics
415 Warren Hall
Ithaca NY 14853-7801
607/255-4121
Cathleen Martin

NORTH DAKOTA
Farm Link
North Dakota Department of Agriculture
600 East Boulevard, 6th Floor
Bismarck ND 58505-0020
701/328-2980
Richard Quintus

OHIO
Ohio Farm Link
Ohio Council of Churches
89 East Wilson Bridge Road
Columbus OH 43085-2391
614/885-9590
Carlene Triplett or Michael Cote

OKLAHOMA
Ag Apprenticeship Program
Route 1, Box 1660
Canute OK 73626
405/472-3320
Wayne A. Walters

PENNSYLVANIA
Center for Rural Pennsylvania
212 Locust Street, Suite 604
Harrisburg PA 17101
800/9PA-FARM (972-3276)
Marion Bowlan
This program is being moved 1/95 to the dept. of agriculture and Linda
Golden will be the contact person; I don't have a new telephone number.

SOUTH DAKOTA
Farmlink Program
South Dakota Department of Agriculture
523 East Capitol Avenue
Pierre SD 57501-3182
800/228-5254 (SD only)
605/773-3375
Kevin Richter, administrator
or Margie Schmitz

UTAH
Farm and Agribusiness Transfer Program
Utah State University
College of Agriculture
Logan UT 84322-4800
801/797-2267
Weldon Sleight, associate dean

WISCONSIN
Farm Link
Farmers Assistance Program
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture
Trade and Consumer Protection
PO Box 8911
Madison WI 53708
800/942-2474
608/266-2678
Jeanne M. Meier