By Olivia Fuller
A new exhibit by American Farmland Trust (AFT), titled “Our Farms, Our Future: Uplifting the Next Generation of New York Farmers and Women in Agriculture,” is opening on Oct. 3 at the Spring Street Gallery in Saratoga Springs, with a free public reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 110 Spring Street in Saratoga Springs, New York.
“Our Farms, Our Future” tells the story of New York’s farms in transition, as a third of the state’s farmers are now 65 and older and own two million acres of farmland that is expected to change hands in the coming years. Whether the land transfers to new farmers or is permanently taken out of agriculture is the question at stake. Across the nation, we lose 2,000 acres of farmland every day to development and other uses that jeopardize farming, and farmland is most vulnerable to being lost at this moment of generational transition.
The exhibit focuses on the portraits and stories of keeping land in farming and of passing it on to a new generation, both within and outside of the traditional family farm. Featuring a collection of 11 farm stories from across the state, the exhibit includes a variety of operations from dairy and livestock to apple orchards, field crops, and vegetable production, all with a shared vision of protecting the land for future generations. Increasingly, a diverse new generation is looking to farm, including women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ folks, and others who have been historically and currently underserved by agricultural programs and continue to face barriers to get into farming.
“Our Farms, Our Future” highlights how different tools, such as conservation easements, can support farm transition and make land more accessible for the next generation. Ten out of 11 farms featured in the exhibit are permanently protected through the state’s farmland protection program, demonstrating the important opportunity for conservation to help facilitate farm transition. Three of the farms featured in the show participated in Farmland for a New Generation New York, which is a statewide program coordinated by American Farmland Trust, in partnership with the State of New York, agricultural organizations, land trusts, and others, that helps farmers seeking land and landowners who want to keep their land in farming.
“At American Farmland Trust, we have known that farmland protection can be a tool for transitioning farms from one generation to the next – but to see these stories unfold for real New York farm families, and to witness young and first-generation farmers and underserved farmers gaining access to farmland, including conserved land, is especially exciting,” said Heidi Exline, New York & New Jersey Deputy Director for American Farmland Trust. “We are entering a pivotal moment for agriculture, but viewing the stories in this exhibit, we feel hopeful for the future as this next generation takes the lead.”
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