RFC’s Changing Hands Program is now the Future Farms Program!
Rogue Farm Corps is training the next generation of Oregon farmers and ranchers. But how can we ensure that our graduates and other beginning farmers can access land and business opportunities when they are ready?
The Future Farms Program addresses systemic barriers to accessing land, capital, and other resources by providing the education and support that beginning farmers and ranchers need to build successful and sustainable agricultural businesses. Future Farms also facilitates intergenerational networking spaces with the goal of achieving an intentional, equity-informed, transfer of farmland. We believe that keeping farmers on the land with successful businesses is the most effective and secure way to preserve farmland.
RFC’s Future Farms Program consists of three branches of work: Changing Hands Workshops, Farm Launch, and Technical Assistance:
RFC’s annual winter Changing Hands Workshops provide education and facilitated networking to farmers and ranchers who are seeking land and business support and farmers and ranchers who are seeking to pass on their land and/or business.
Every year from October-March, Farm Launch assists 10-15 beginning farmers in taking the next steps toward establishing or growing their businesses and writing business plans through cohort learning and one-on-one coaching.
The Future Farms Program provides additional one-on-one business Technical Assistance to graduates of RFC’s training programs and farmers operating out of the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District’s Headwaters Incubator Program.
RFC’s Future Farms Program, previously called the Changing Hands Program, and originally called the Farm Preservation Program, was established in 2015 to address the threats facing Oregon’s agricultural land and the many interrelated barriers that beginning farmers and ranchers face in building successful and sustainable careers in agriculture. The program works toward an intentional, intergenerational transition of Oregon’s farms and farmland through our Changing Hands Workshops, Farm Launch program, collaborations with partners, and Technical Assistance to RFC Training Program graduates and beginning farmers and ranchers across Oregon.
For more information about this program and to get involved, contact Geoffrey Van at geoffrey@roguefarmcorps.org
This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
