# IF you are looking for Virginia Farmland



## Navotifarm (Dec 16, 2009)

Virginia is making an effort to preserve farmland by encouraging older farmers to transfer their land to young farmers. this is a tough proposition because many of the younger persons have NO farming experience so they might not be a financial success right away! It makes sense for the experienced farmers to assure a valid transition by assisting the young ones through the learning curve. The state is trying to do a "hands off" on the transactions (guess they are afraid some lawyers will cook up a nasty lawsuit for infringing or something) but they are trying to be helpful, also. Virginia is losing farmland at an appalling rate.

I want to encourage this effort to preserve farmland in any way I can, so I'm posting this just received email from vdacs for folks who will appreciate this opportunity to learn about possibilities of farm land in Virginia. I think this is okay according to Homesteading Today Guidelines!
Navotifarm

"Recent changes to the Virginia Farm Link program/database
Dear Virginia Farm Link Database Participants,

"This has been an interesting summer for agriculture here in Virginia with the extremely dry weather and turbulent economy. The Office of Farmland Preservation understands the hardships and frustrations that you may feel after this season, and we wish you the best as we move toward the fall.

"Over the course of this past year, the Virginia Farm Link program has undergone some substantial improvements in regard to our website and database. Due to the willingness of several farm seekers and owners in the database, we have gained excellent information through interviews conducted by our summer intern, Jacob Gilley, to help improve the program.

"Our newly designed website is considerably more organized and easier to navigate. We have uploaded and posted many helpful resources covering farm transition legal issues, business development, communication issues in the farm transition process and more at 
http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/preservation/resources.shtml.

"During the course of these interviews, it became clear that there is some frustration with the lack of specific information both from farm seekers and farm owners. We understand each situation is different and that is why we have introduced an area on the database where farm owners can post pictures and provide more detail about their specific operations. 

In addition, farm seekers have the opportunity to describe themselves in more detail on the database with information pertaining to their agricultural experience, family status, age, and goals. This information will provide farm owners a clearer picture of the farm seeker and may help facilitate a successful farm transition. Please visit www.vafarmlink.org if you wish to visit the database.

"Not only can the Virginia Farm Link database be helpful in showcasing farms for sale, but it also can be helpful in finding properties to lease or rent. With land prices as high as they are, it may be more feasible for your particular situation to enter into a lease or rental agreement. 
"Lastly, the database has also proven to be a great resource to link those looking for work and those looking for employees. However you find the Virginia Farm Link database and other components of the program helpful, please feel free to contact us with any other concerns or suggestions."

Ooops, I forgot to copy the contact information. Oh, well, homesteading pioneers can take that in stride, right? and I accidentally spared you some TMI!


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