Access
Natick Community Organic Farm
- Farmers: Lynda Simkins as Executive Director, additional full-time staff, seasonal and part-time youth, and adult employees/trainees
- Method of Access: Long-term lease on public lands with management contract
- Acreage: 27 acres
- Location: Natick, MA
- Year Founded: 1975
- Affordability Tools: Leasing public lands, nonprofit status
- Farm Operation: Produce, flowers, maple syrup, meat, wool yarn, honey
Pine Island Community Farm
- Farmers: Chuda and Gita Dhaurali, Theogène and Hyacinthe Mahoro
- Method of Access: Lease
- Acreage: 230 acres: 80 acres are grazed, 8 acres are used for vegetable production, and the remaining acreage is used for beekeeping and ecological protection
- Location: Colchester, Vermont
- Year Founded: 2013
- Affordability Tools: Collaborative arrangement, nonprofit status, lease, land trust
- Farm Operation: Vegetables, goats, chickens
Say Hay Farm
- Farmers: Chris Hay
- Method of Access: Lease
- Acreage: 50+ acres
- Location: Esparto, Yolo County, California
- Year Founded: 2010
- Affordability Tools: Long-term lease with option to purchase, long-term lease with right of first refusal
- Farm Operation: Organic vegetables, pastured eggs
Sunbow Farm
- Farmers: Yadira Ruiz and Nate Johnson (junior farmers); Harry MacCormack and Cheri Clark (senior farmers)
- Method of Access: Lease
- Acreage: 15 acres
- Location: Corvallis, Oregon
- Year Founded: 1972
- Affordability Tools: Lease, LLC, living trust
- Farm Operation: Vegetables
Temple-Wilton Community Farm
- Farmers: Lincoln Geiger (dairy), Anthony Graham (vegetables), Benjamin Meier (cheesemaker)
- Method of Access: Long-term leases, fee simple
- Acreage: 200 acres
- Location: Wilton, New Hampshire
- Year Founded: 1986
- Affordability Tools: LLC, nonprofit status, land trust, conservation easements, rolling 99-year ground leases, community fundraising
- Farm Operation: Diversified operation, including raw milk and cheese, biodynamically grown vegetables, pastured broiler chickens, laying hens, pigs, grass-fed beef and veal
Urban Edge Farm
- Farmers: Chang and Ger Xiong, Christina Dedora, Ben Torpey, John Kenny, Michele Kozloski, Garmai Mawolo, Choua and Kia Xiong
- Method of Access: Long-term lease, public lands
- Acreage: 50 acres
- Location: Cranston, Rhode Island
- Year Founded: 2004
- Affordability Tools: Farm incubator, conservation easement, collaborative arrangement, public lands
- Farm Operation: Organic vegetables, eggs, flowers, herbs
Wahl Ranch
- Farmers: Wahl siblings
- Method of Access: Percentage interest in partnership-owned land
- Acreage: 2,000 acres
- Location: Oregon
- Year Founded: 1874
- Affordability Tools: Rolling lease, legal multi-member partnership, federal conservation programs
- Farm Operation: Ranching
Windswept Farmstead Cooperative LLC and Dickey Hill Farm
- Farmers: Eric and Alison Rector (senior farmers); Noami Brautigam and James Gagne (junior farmers)
- Method of Access: Transitional ownership via LLC, lease
- Acreage: 18 acres
- Location: Monroe, Maine
- Year Founded: 1990
- Affordability Tools: LLC and lease
- Farm Operation: Dickey Hill Farm produces organic vegetables and grass-fed beef; Eric and Alison raise chicken and pork and produce artisanal cheese and yogurt
The Center for Agriculture and Food Systems is an initiative of Vermont Law School, and this toolkit provides general legal information for educational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute, and should not be relied upon, for legal advice. Each farmer’s circumstances are unique, state laws vary, and the information contained herein is specific to the time of publication. Accordingly, for legal advice, please consult an attorney licensed in your state.