Hobby Farms

A New Lease on Life

If you can’t afford your own acreage, start a farm on leased land.

- by Robin Hackett

If you can’t afford your own acreage, start a farm on leased land.

If you dropped by Bigfoot Farm in western Massachuse­tts, you wouldn’t get the sense that the farm is at all temporary or even that it’s relatively new. Rather, Bigfoot Farm feels like a familiar and substantia­l part of the landscape. Brian Cole started Bigfoot in 2018 on a single acre in the foothills of the Taconic Mountains in Williamsto­wn, Massachuse­tts, a small town in the northwest corner of the state that borders Vermont and New York. For a combinatio­n of practical and philosophi­cal reasons, Cole created the farm to be a market garden in the style of farmers/authors Eliot Coleman ( The New Organic Grower) of Four Season Farm and JM Fortier ( The Market Gardener) of Le Ferme to Quatre-Temps. Cole grows all of his crops in permanent, raised beds that are 30 inches wide by 50 feet long and separated from one another by 15-inch pathways mulched with straw or wood chips.

The only machinery on the farm is a BCS, an Italian-made two-wheel tractor that can run a variety of implements ranging from a rear-tine tiller to a flail mower. The vast majority of the work on the farm is done by hand by Cole himself. In addition to keeping machinery and labor costs low, this method of growing vegetables allows Cole to prioritize the health of his soil by avoiding unnecessar­y tillage and compaction. It also allows him to grow his crops at ever-increasing densities, which results in impressive yields.

DREAMS VS. REALITY

After leaving California to attend college in Williamsto­wn, Cole began to dream of farming in Massachuse­tts. He spent a handful of years after graduation working on farms across the Northeast before he felt ready set out on his own. The only problem was land. Cole’s dream — like that of many young farmers — had always been to farm on his own property. But given the high land values in the area, purchasing his own acreage simply wasn’t an option in the short term.

Cole’s situation is by no means unique. A 2017 survey conducted by the National Young Farmers Coalition (www.youngfarme­rs.org/land-access) found that land access is the No. 1 issue that young farmers encounter today. Looking at the numbers, it becomes apparent why.

According to the American Farmland Trust, 40% of the nation’s agricultur­al land is owned by people over the age of 65. This trend also has the power to become self-perpetuati­ng. As young farmers have an increasing­ly difficult time accessing land on which to start their own farms, more of them decide to pursue other careers, leaving an ever-growing percentage of farmland in the hands of older farmers.

In response, the public and nonprofit sectors have set out to promote land access. Minnesota and Rhode Island, for instance, have developed innovative programs to enhance access to historical­ly agricultur­al land, and the National Young Farmers Coalition recently published a guide for farmers interested in working with land trusts to find farmland. Despite these best efforts, many young farmers wont’ be able to find farmland of their own on which to farm.

So, an increasing number of young farmers are beginning their farms on leased land. For Cole, finding

land was no easy process. Initially, he was interested in cobbling together the rights to farm on multiple people’s front yards, in a method popularize­d by urban farmers such as Curtis Stone. Although many property owners were intrigued by the idea, when he disclosed the details of the kind of access he would need, they tended to lose interest quickly.

“A lot of people don’t know what farming really looks like” Cole says, reflecting back on that time. Some landowners were put off by his need to be on the property on a daily basis throughout the growing season, or by the fact that he wanted to erect a small high tunnel for limited season-extension growing.

Eventually, mutual friends introduced Cole to a landowner with a large property that he was using to raise alpacas and harvest maple syrup. The landowner also occasional­ly rented the space for events and weddings, and was intrigued by the idea of being able to source produce for those events from the property itself. So, he and Cole made a handshake agreement that Cole could use 1 acre of his land for a year. In return, Cole helped the landowner bail bay and process maple syrup.

Now, two seasons after that initial agreement, Bigfoot Farm is still operating on the same land, with the high-tunnel that Cole had always imagined. He might not have his own land, Cole does have his a farm business that’s continuing to grow every year.

Land Ho!

Although farming on leased land may not be the ideal that many young farmers dream about, it can be a necessary reality for those committed to setting out on their own. For those farmers looking to lease land, the first step is to develop a sense of the kind of property you’ll need.

To begin with, searching for land to lease can look a lot like shopping for property to purchase. Start by thinking about your future farm business and the type of property that will allow you to meet that business’ needs. Begin by outlining the basic attributes of your ideal parcel. How much open acreage will your farm require, for instance?

Additional­ly, take into considerat­ion the various attributes of a property that will make farming on the land more or less difficult, including slope, elevation, soil type, drainage and sun exposure. Beyond the physical qualities of the property, it’s also important to think about its location relative to the markets you hope to sell in. It can be tempting to look for property that’s cheaper to rent and far outside of the nearest town, but think carefully about the expenses associated with all those delivery miles.

Additional­ly, think about the utilities that your farm will need. What kind of water access will you require, and what sort of electrical needs will you have? Similarly, have a sense of the infrastruc­ture that you’d like the property to have or that you anticipate needing to build. It’s important to answer all of these questions before you begin your search for land.

Once you have a good idea of what your ideal property looks like, it’s time to begin your search. There are a number of national and regional nonprofits that can help match farmers and willing landowners, but word of mouth can also be a powerful tool. Once you’ve found some potential landowners, Cole recommends being up front with them about your vision for your future there.

“Don’t try to minimize the impact of your operation up front,” he says. Although it may be tempting to make your expectatio­ns sound minimal so as to gain access to the land, this can backfire down the road when you want to expand your operation in a way that the landowner feels caught off-guard by. It’s especially important to be up front about any infrastruc­ture you anticipate wanting to put up on the property, including fencing, hoop houses or storage buildings. It’s also critical to find a landowner who is willing to make a commitment to having a farmer on their land.

In Cole’s experience, many landowners wanted the ability to walk away from the arrangemen­t if they decided that they no longer wanted a farmer on their property. Although this might be entirely understand­able, this type of uncertaint­y is far from ideal for the lease. Invest time in constructi­ng a lease that works in your favor, and don’t be afraid to get a lawyer involved. In Cole’s case, he and the landowner signed a five-year lease after his first year on the property that stipulates that the landowner can only break the lease if Cole violates other terms in the contract.

Problem Solving

Although some farmers are lucky enough to lease farms with preexistin­g infrastruc­ture, many farmers are

confronted with an absence of infrastruc­ture on their leased land. Cole’s 1-acre plot, for instance, came with access to a well, but no electricit­y or existing fencing. Because deer are prolific in the area and erecting a permanent deer-fence was out of the question, Cole put up a temporary electric fence that has been highly effective.

When it comes to electricit­y, Cole has learned to live without it. Although it would be helpful to be able to ventilate his high tunnel with fans throughout the summer, Cole has simply gotten by with passive ventilatio­n. Similarly, though many growers harvesting the quantity of salad mix that he is would probably turn to an electric greens spinner, Cole is content with the hand crank system he’s currently using.

A lack of electricit­y also means that Cole has no refrigerat­ion on his farm, so he’s had to find some workaround­s there as well. For wholesale orders, Cole typically bypasses refrigerat­ion all together and delivers to his customers immediatel­y after he finishes picking. When it comes to larger harvests for the weekly farmers market, Cole spent his first season packing all of his produce into kitchen fridges at his house.

After that first year, Cole picked up an old commercial walk-in fridge that he re-assembled in his backyard. Now, he can pack produce into coolers — Cole has enough of them to make any car-camper envious — for the 10-minute drive from the farm to his house.

Similarly, without electricit­y to run a heater or germinatio­n mats, Cole couldn’t propagate his seedlings on the farm. It took him a while to come up with a solution, but he eventually found a local greenhouse and nursery that was willing to rent him space in a heated tunnel. Cole developed a system that involved germinatin­g his seedlings at home, and then transporti­ng them over to the greenhouse on the other end of town.

For farmers without their own propagatio­n space, there are other ways to start seedlings early in the season. One option is to find a nearby farmer with propagatio­n space to spare. Many farmers only use a portion of their greenhouse to start their own seedlings and might be willing to heat more space if you pay for the additional costs. Another option is to order in your early-season starts from a seed company that specialize­s in that sort of thing.

As Cole’s experience shows, starting a farm business on leased land is certainly possible but not without its challenges. Although farming on leased land may not be an ideal circumstan­ce for young farmers, it will be a reality for many of those who are committed to setting out on their own. For those farmers who do find themselves establishi­ng a business on someone else’s land, it’s important to enter into the process with a recognitio­n of the unique set of obstacles you’ll be facing. Overcoming these obstacles, will, however undoubtedl­y make you a better farmer in the long run. Robin Hackett is a young farmer from Massachuse­tts with an interest in no-till market gardening and a background in environmen­tal policy. Find him at Beetlebung Farm on Martha’s Vineyard or on Instagram @robinhacke­tt

 ??  ?? Brian Cole (opposite page) started Bigfoot Farm (left) in 2018 on a single leased acre. He uses it to sustainabl­y meet his needs and nurture his “mind, body and soul.”
Brian Cole (opposite page) started Bigfoot Farm (left) in 2018 on a single leased acre. He uses it to sustainabl­y meet his needs and nurture his “mind, body and soul.”
 ??  ?? Cole’s crops include nutritious vegetables, such as spinach (pictured), using sustainabl­e, ecological­ly friendly practices.
Cole’s crops include nutritious vegetables, such as spinach (pictured), using sustainabl­e, ecological­ly friendly practices.
 ??  ?? cole’s new high tunnel will allow him to grow further into the shoulder seasons.
cole’s new high tunnel will allow him to grow further into the shoulder seasons.
 ??  ?? bigfoot farm grow kale under row covers late in the season.
bigfoot farm grow kale under row covers late in the season.
 ??  ?? Bigfoot Farm’s caterpilla­r tunnels (right) and high tunnel (left) allow Cole (above right) to grow high-value produce in the summer and protect crops from colder temperatur­es in spring and fall.
Bigfoot Farm’s caterpilla­r tunnels (right) and high tunnel (left) allow Cole (above right) to grow high-value produce in the summer and protect crops from colder temperatur­es in spring and fall.
 ??  ?? Mature kale (above) grows late in the season.
Mature kale (above) grows late in the season.
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Silage tarps are used at Bigfoot Farm to bring new areas into vegetable production without tillage.
Silage tarps are used at Bigfoot Farm to bring new areas into vegetable production without tillage.

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