Tuesday: meeting on farming land in Lincoln

The Lincoln Agriculture Commission (LAC) invites land owners, farmers, and others to an information session on its agricultural lands mapping project on Tuesday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Bemis Hall. This community-wide meeting will highlight the LAC’s new map of agricultural lands in Lincoln, which was developed using publicly available information, and will feature tips on leasing land to a farmer.

We are in the midst of an exciting period of opportunity for local agriculture due to a resurgence of interest in locally produced foods, However, a weak link in the revival of regional agriculture is access to land for the beginning farmer. New farmers are critical to sustaining our agricultural base and to replacing an aging farmer population. Those interested in starting agricultural careers are increasingly challenged as barriers to entry are significant and traditional venues for education are declining.

The LAC is a town board charged with protecting and promoting agriculture in Lincoln. To that end, the group is working to inventory  existing agricultural lands and uncover properties that have the potential to support agricultural production.  There are many properties in Lincoln that may have valuable soil and land characteristics that could help a farmer start or expand his/her business and produce food for the region. The LAC hopes that by providing information about farming opportunities in Lincoln, they can facilitate matches between farmers and landowners and increase agricultural production in the community.

For this land outreach project, the LAC is partnering with the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, a Tufts University program that assists people with an interest in small-scale commercial agriculture to begin farming in Massachusetts. New Entry provides services for beginning farmers such as locating and helping with leasing farmland, education, training, business/enterprise development, and production and marketing assistance.

Please contact Ashley Davies, Farmland Matching Coordinator, at adavies@comteam.org or 978-654-5738, or Christy Foote-Smith, Lincoln Agricultural Commission, at cfsmith@massaudubon.org or 781-259-2201 if you have any questions.