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INVESTIGATOR: Powell, C.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
408 Old Main
UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA 16802-1505

LAND ACCESS & SAVING FOR LONG-TERM ASSETS:COMBINING TWO APPROACHES TO ADDRESSING A COMMON BARRIER FOR NEW AND BEGINNING FARMERS AND RANCHERS

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: As Pennsylvania's farming population is aging, it is critical that we consider how to support the transition of farmland to the next generation of producers. The primary barriers that new and beginning farmers currently face is access to land and capital to get their new enterprises off the ground. This project aims to support new and beginning farmers both in navigating the decision-making involved in pursuing farmland tenure opportunities, and to support new farmers' abilities to build saving for long-term assets. Our first goal in this project is to provide experiential, place-based trainings on the topic of farm and rangeland access and tenure options to new and beginning food producers in PA. Our second goal is to develop an action plan for piloting an agricultural IDA program in PA. Our hope is that the complementary offerings of LAT workshops and the financial management courses and matched savings of an agricultural IDA will help new and beginning farmers build their own assets and profitability, access additional capital, and understand their various land tenure options.

OBJECTIVES: The successful transfer of farm and rangeland to the next generation of producers will be key to ensuring the continued and long-term vitality of agriculture in Pennsylvania. However, studies show that over two-thirds of retiring farmers have not identified successors and that nearly 90% of farm owners neither have an exit strategy nor know how to develop one. As aging and retiring landowners seek new proprietors and stewards, these transfers of land will become increasingly common (including an estimated 40% of American agricultural land within the next 15 yearsii). As such, new and beginning farmers and ranchers will increasingly be relied upon for the success of these land transfers. This project seeks to address these barriers to successful transfer by realizing two long-term goals. The first goal is to support these new and beginning producers in navigating the decision-making involved in pursuing farm and rangeland tenure opportunities.Equally important to these successful transfers will be new and beginning producers' ability to establish and build savings for long-term assets. To this end, economic development tools like agricultural individual development accounts (IDAs) need to be assessed for their applicability in Pennsylvania, and for the target audience of new and beginning farmers and ranchers. As such, thisproject's second goal is to develop a needs assessment and action plan for piloting an agricultural IDA program in Pennsylvania, which would assist new and beginning producers in either saving for or securing the financing necessary for acquiring long-term assets (such as farm or rangeland).

APPROACH: This project includes the following activities:Objective 1.1: Train and certify at least six Cooperative Extension Educators in PA to deliver AFT's LAT curriculum for the project's target audience by the first quarter of the project.The Program Manager for AFT's LAT curriculum will work with the Project Director to schedule a Train-the-Trainer workshop in PA. The Educators to be certified on this curriculum will have access to the modules in the weeks leading up to the workshop for preliminary review. Per the Program Manager's request, an Educators to be trained will receive additional pre-workshop assistance so that the Train-the-Trainer event will co-lead by both the AFT Program Manager and that local Educator.Objective 1.2: Review the LAT curriculum with local service provider partners to assess opportunities for integrating existing resources that reflect land access tenure barriers in PA by the second quarter of the project.The Project Director will then coordinate with two local service providers, Pennsylvania Farm Link and the Pennsylvania staff of the National Young Farmers Coalition, to assess opportunities for incorporating additional resources into future deliveries of the LAT workshops, and to coordinate the outreach and recruitment of new and beginning farmers and ranchers to these future workshops. This will ensure that the AFT LAT curriculum is best suited for the intended audiences.Objective 1.3: Engage 70 new and beginning farmers and ranchers through four LAT workshops in the NE, SE, South Central, and Western regions of PA in quarters 2-4 of the one-year project.The Project Director will work with project partner Pennsylvania Farm Link to identify and recruit landowners (and users of the Land Link website) who are willing to host LAT workshops on their properties; the locations for these workshops be strategically dispersed throughout the state to reach distinct audiences of new and beginning farmers. The sites will also include a diversity of land uses (e.g. diversified vegetable farming, row crop, livestock, and/or dairy). Outreach to the target audience of new and beginning farmers will be conducted in coordination with the PA chapters of the National Young Farmers Coalition, the farm seekers who use the Land Link website, and Penn State Cooperative Extension's existing networks. The certified LAT trainers will then co-deliver the PA-customized workshops at four separate locations. If appropriate, the curriculum will also be delivered at one of two annual conferences for farmers in PA; these conferences typically have a new and beginning farmer track, and could serve as an effective initial engagement later LAT workshop delivery on-farm (as intended by the curriculum design).Objective 2.1: Convene an Advisory Committee of stakeholders to assess the agricultural individual development account (IDA) program idea for a future pilot project.The Project Director will work with the project partners and other relevant stakeholders (e.g. the Pennsylvania Department of Agricultural) to recruit an Advisory Committee for the program idea of a pilot agricultural IDA in PA. This committee will be loosely based on the structure used in many county Cooperative Extension offices, although it will be focused on the idea of offering this program on a statewide basis. The inclusion of new and beginning farmers on this committee is vital, given the disproportionate difficulties that this producer group faces in building profitability and the savings necessary to acquire long-term farm assets like land. This committee will convene twice; the first convening will generate recommendations for further exploration, with the second concluding in a consensus-based development of an agricultural IDA pilot program action plan.Objective 2.2: Develop both an economic needs assessment and evaluation plan for a pilot agricultural IDA program based on the Advisory Committee's recommendations.The Project Director will coordinate with Penn State faculty experienced in food systems, agricultural economics, and program evaluation to flesh out the needs assessment deemed necessary by the Advisory Committee for a future pilot program. This will include interviews with administrators of existing agricultural IDA programs, as well as the development of a longitudinal evaluation plan. These findings will be necessary to groundtruth the needs assessment and provide a proposal for tracking the return on investment for the new and beginning farmers and ranchers participating in a pilot agricultural IDA.

PROGRESS: 2020/09 TO 2021/08
Target Audience:Overall, this grant sought to specifically target new and beginning farmer audiences all across Pennsylvania and beyond. Audience Emphasis: -Farmworkers -Limited resource producers -Small farms -Traditional commercial producers -Urban producers Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The participants agreed that having a wide range of resources compiled from American Farmland Trust curriculum, Penn State Extension various new and beginning farming/business-related materials, and other agricultural organization partners data was very valuable. The Land Access Webinar Series post-evaluation reports showcase the usefulness of the information provided to the participants. 96% average of workshop attendees reported increased confidence in navigating land tenure decision-making, and 95% of workshop attendees indicated interest in attending additional Land Access Training topic-related workshops. Eight attendees stated that they had plans for starting a new farm upon attending the workshops and two attendees indicated that they had plans for expanding on existing farms. As for the Agricultural Individual Development Account (IDA)research for Pennsylvania, advisory group participants and their respective organizations were provided resources throughout and after formal research had been conducted in a transparent and open-to-suggestions-minded manner, allowing for positive feedback and varying perspectives. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?For obvious reasons, the COVID-19 pandemic put a big dent in original plans that the grant proposals had outlined, mainly causing any in-person workshop and meeting initiatives to have to be instead shifted to an online-only format (via Penn State Extension's Zoom account). However, even though these shifts were forced to happen, the outcomes of the webinars and other associated meetings with the overall grant goals turned out to be highly successful. For the Land Access Webinar series, nearly 330 participants from all across Pennsylvania as well as neighboring states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, and Virginia, and further away states of California and Texas joined the live and recorded sessions. It is highly likely that the shift from in-person to online learning allowed morenew and beginning farmers in general, as well as emphasized audiences of farmworkers, limited resource producers, small farms, traditional commercial producers, and urban producers to be able to conveniently tune in to learn all about land access topics from our series. For theAgricultural Individual Development Account (IDA) potential assessment research for Pennsylvania, advisory group participants from all across the state were easily able to join the focus group meetings online from the comfort of their own homes and/or offices and not have to worry about any significant travel at all. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

IMPACT: 2020/09 TO 2021/08
What was accomplished under these goals? As Pennsylvania's farming population is aging, it is critical to consider how to support the transition of farmland to the next generation. The primary barriers that new and beginning farmers face is access to land and capital to even start their enterprises. This project aimed to support these farmers by navigating the decision-making involved in pursuing farmland tenure opportunities, and to support new farmers' abilities to build saving for long-term assets. Our first goal was to provide trainings on the topic of farmland access and tenure options, which proved to be very successful through a Land Access Webinar Series with 327 participants led by seven Extension Educators, amid COVID-19 planning obstacles. 79% of attendees reported increased knowledge of land tenure options, 96% reported increased confidence in navigating land tenure options, eight attendees indicated that they had plans for starting a new farm, two indicated that they had plans for expanding on existing farms, and overall attendees felt that the workshops met and exceeded expectations. Our second goal was to develop an action plan for piloting an agricultural Individual Development Account (IDA) program in PA, which has been passed onto interested organizations who might decide to pursue this program in the future. Our hope is that the live offerings of the workshops (and recordings), as well as the compiled research from the matched savings of an agricultural IDA possibility in PA will help new and beginning farmers build their own assets and profitability, access additional capital, and understand their various land tenure options. Overall data and findings from this grant's goals and deliverables will certainly be explored beyond the grant period to build upon for future workshops, research, and overall ways to help our respective clients in the new and beginning farmer realms with Penn State Extension lead efforts.

PUBLICATIONS (not previously reported): 2020/09 TO 2021/08
1. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Intro to Land Access- Starting & Improving Farms Conference- Introduction to the entire Land Access series presentation was given at the 2021 Penn State Extension Starting & Improving Farms Conference (for new and beginning farmers).
2. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Intro to Land Access Series- Introductory night slides to the Land Access Webinar Series.
3. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Finding Land Presentation- Finding Land presentation slides within the Land Access Webinar Series. This was a collaboration between Penn State Extension and Pennsylvania Farm Link for presenting.
4. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Leasing Land Presentation- Leasing Land presentation slides within the Land Access Webinar Series.
5. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Purchasing Land Presentation- Purchasing Land presentation slides within the Land Access Webinar series.
6. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Conclusion to Land Access Series- Conclusion night slides to the Land Access Webinar Series. This was a collaboration between Penn State Extension, Penn State Center for Shale & Ag Law, and regional farmers and agricultural professionals from across Pennsylvania for presenting and panel discussions.
7. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Finding Land Worksheets- Finding Land Worksheets created and designed by American Farmland Trust and modified for use by Penn State Extension Land Access Grant Team.
8. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Introduction Session Resources- Land Access Series Introduction Session Resources from Penn State Extension document.
9. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Leasing Land Worksheets- Leasing Land Worksheets created and designed by American Farmland Trust and modified for use by Penn State Extension Land Access Grant Team.
10. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Purchasing Land Worksheets- Purchasing Land Worksheets created and designed by American Farmland Trust and modified for use by Penn State Extension Land Access Grant Team.
11. Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Conclusion Session Resources- Panel Bios- Land Access Series Conclusion Session Resources for Panel Bios document
12. Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Assessing the Potential of Developing Agricultural Individual Development Accounts (IDA) for Pennsylvania â Focus Group Background- Assessing the Potential of Developing Agricultural Individual Development Accounts (IDA) for Pennsylvania â Focus Group Background document that was sent ahead of time to focus group participants.
13. Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Assessing the Potential of Developing Agricultural Individual Development Accounts (IDA) for Pennsylvania- Focus Group first session slides.- Assessing the Potential of Developing Agricultural Individual Development Accounts (IDA) for Pennsylvania- Focus Group first session slides.