There are over 500,000 beginning farmers growing food across America, so you may be surprised to learn that the average age of farmers in the state of Oregon is 60 years old.
Even more shocking, between 2007 and 2012, the state lost nearly 25% of its beginning farmers.The gap between farmers leaving agriculture and those entering is steadily increasing. Who will grow our food in the future? Friends of Family Farmers has one solution to Oregon’s land access crisis: Oregon Farm Link.
Oregon Farm Link is an online hub that connects beginning farmers and ranchers with land holders. In addition to hosting land listings, Oregon Farm Link serves as a portal for those interested in getting involved in agriculture, with a board of job listings and a comprehensive resource library designed to assist farmers of all experiences.
Oregon Farm Link is a major upgrade to Friends of Family Farmers’ popular iFarm land link program, which was originally created in 2009. iFarm facilitated more than 70 land matches around the state, but the site needed major improvements to handle the demands of hundreds of listings.
Chelsea Girimonte, farmer at Vee Cee Farm in Dayton, OR explains, “As first-generation farmers we’re not always sure how to access all the resources in our agricultural community, including land lease and partnership opportunities. iFarm helped us access landholders and start conversations we wouldn’t have had the opportunity for otherwise.”
Since its launch in late May, Oregon Farm Link has been buzzing with activity! The site has been joined by nearly 30 new land holders and land seekers, and new job postings have been listed almost daily.
Now is the time to cultivate the next generation of Oregon’s agrarians! List your land, find land, look for a job, & locate resources on FoFF’s new Oregon Farm Link database.
For more information, visit oregonfarmlink.org