NWA Land Trust developing Farm-Link program, website
by October 8, 2019 10:16 am 871 views
A regional land conservation group is developing a website to help connect farm seekers with farmland owners.
Fayetteville nonprofit Northwest Arkansas Land Trust (NWALT) says its NWA Farm-Link website will be completed this fall. It will provide information, resources and services that support farmland preservation and sustainable agriculture by connecting farm seekers with farmland owners to explore transfer options including leasing, sale, apprenticeships as well as conservation.
“We believe NWA Farm-Link will complement other agriculture service provider efforts and real estate professionals in our area with expertise in farm transfer,” said Susan Koehler, NWALT’s farmland programs coordinator. “Long term, we want to ensure local working lands remain productive, return to agricultural use or become more sustainable. This starts by meeting people where they are in their journey to farm, or in their farm legacy planning, so they can realize their goals.”
NWALT manages roughly 3,500 acres from 23 properties throughout a service area that includes 13 counties in Northwest Arkansas. Some of the lands protected are in conservation easements, in which the landowner retains rights to the land and the land trust owns the easement.
“We’re on track to protect an additional 1,100 acres this year,” said Lauren Embree, the NWALT’s director of communications and development.
Website development was made possible by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation. Bentonville web design firm Simplemachine is leading the project.