Farm owners choose to make their land available for farming for many reasons. Whether it is a desire to continue a family farm tradition, maintain farmland assessment, or develop a vision for the property that includes agriculture, making land available helps support the agricultural industry in New Jersey. The following resources may be able to help landowners with finding farmers for the farming opportunities - lease, sale, partnership, farm manager, etc. - that they have available.


Next Gen Support

Next Generation Farmer Program - The Next Gen team is available to provide support for landowners through its coordination of NJ Land Link, awareness of farmers seeking access to land, knowledge of things to consider when leasing farmland, and support for farm transfer and succession. 

For more information, see the SADC Next Gen Farm Transfer and Succession Support Factsheet. 

 

Organizations such as these could be of assistance with finding farmers for a farming opportunity you have available (land for lease, farm manager position, apprenticeship opportunity, farm business succession, partnership, land for sale, etc.).

For more information on the access to land issues faced by new and established farmers, a few resources include Leasing Farmland in New Jersey: A Guide for Landowners and Farmers, 

top of page


Online Listings

NJ Land Link - Online Listings – NJ Land Link helps connect farmers who are seeking access to land and farming opportunities, with farm owners who have farmland and business opportunities available. Farm owners can advertise the farming opportunities they have available (lease, sale, partnership, farm manager, apprenticeship and other opportunities) through the site’s free online listings, and they can browse the listings of farming opportunities sought posted by farmers

Additional Sites – The following are some additional sites where you can post online listings:



top of page


Local Networking

There are more farmers seeking access to land and farming opportunities than the ones with postings on NJ Land Link. Networking with local farmers and agricultural organizations could help with finding farmers for your land. Word-of-mouth also could help advertise what you have available. See the links below for some networking ideas to consider. 

  • County Boards of Agriculture - Visiting a monthly meeting of your County Board of Agriculture could be one way to connect with local farmers and expand your reach. For more information on when a county board meets, contact your Rutgers County Agricultural Agent.
  • Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE) - RCE County Agricultural Agents work with farmers regularly and might be aware of some who are looking for land. 
  • NOFA-NJ – NOFA-NJ holds a monthly open house (online), workshops, and a winter conference, all of which could be opportunities to network with and get to know farmers. NOFA-NJ summarizes its monthly open house in this way: "On the last Wednesday of each month from 9:00-10:00 AM, we provide a platform for farmers and community members to connect, share knowledge, and discuss relevant topics in organic farming (typically via Zoom; in-person Open Houses will be announced in the NOFA NJ Weekly Newsletter)".
  • Foodshed Alliance - The Foodshed Alliance has a Sustainable Agriculture Enterprise (SAGE) Program, which is designed to make farmland accessible to farmers through affordable long-term leases. They might know of farmers looking for land, and they might be interested in expanding the SAGE Program by partnering with additional landowners.
  • County Agriculture Development Boards (CADBs) - CADB Administrators might be aware of farmers who are looking for land.


top of page


Types of farmers seeking farming opportunities

Farmers seeking access to land include established farmers and beginning farmers. Established farmers are often looking to expand or relocate an existing farm operation, or sometimes to partner with another person or work as a farm manager. Similiarly, new and beginning farmers are often looking for land in order to start or expand a new farm business, or to partner, manage, or work on a farm, in some cases as an apprentice, to gain experience. 

New farmers are a diverse group and have a range of backgrounds and experiences. This includes people who grew up on a farm; recent college graduates interested in farming but who do not have a farming background; people looking to transition to farming from a successful non-farm career; and farmers with agricultural experience from their home countries. Beginning farmers also include those who have worked on farms for several years to gain experience and who are now looking to start their own new farm businesses.

 

top of page


Farmland Preservation

For owners of non-preserved farmland who are looking to sell their land and see it remain in agriculture, the NJ Farmland Preservation Program may be of assistance. By selling a farm's development rights through the Farmland Preservation Program, the land is preserved and the farm's cost to a potential farmer-buyer could be lowered.

In some cases, a farm owner may not be able to preserve the farm in a timely manner. Farmland Preservation's Fee Simple Purchase Program may be able to help in these situations. If the farm meets the program's eligibility criteria, the State Agriculture Development Committee (SADC) can buy the farm at the farm's unrestricted market value, preserve the farm by adding the program's farmland preservation deed restrictions, and then resell the now-preserved farm at auction. Local county agriculture development boards, municipalities, and non-profits may also be interested in purchasing and preserving farms in this way for agriculture.

top of page