Project Overview
This project will provide resources to develop the Center for Farm and Ranch Transition within the Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University to provide critical services for beginning farmers/ranchers in Kansas. The Center will have three main objectives during the three years of this grant: 1) Development of a land-link program to match exiting landowners with beginning farmers/ranchers through an application and curated matching process 2) Provide one-on-one technical services to facilitate transition of an existing farm/ranch operation 3) Develop an extensive training program for beginning farmers/ranchers to master critical financial and business skills.
The goal of this project is to equip beginning farmers/ranchers to be successful farm managers and provide resources and technical services to enable opportunities for land access. It is anticipated that the land-link program will bring at least 30 successful matches during the life of this grant. In addition, 60 farm families will receive one-on-one technical assistance in developing their transition plan with 40 completing their transition within the three years. Educational conferences on farm transition will reach 300 participants and 60 beginning farmers/ranchers will complete a year-long training and have measurable increases in farm financial knowledge and business skills. The Center for Farm and Ranch Transition will continue offering these services beyond the grant period with many more transitions anticipated as a direct result of these start-up funds. Long-term outcomes would be increasing the number of beginning farmers/ranchers in Kansas agriculture and slowing the consolidation of farms/ranches across the state.
Partnering organizations: Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Bankers Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Farm Service Agency, Kansas Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Kansas Grazing Land Coalition.
10% of budget to exclusively serve socially disadvantaged and limited resource farmers
50% of budget to overcome COVID-19 challenges (technical services and educational programs)
Number of Participants: 550
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