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August 2023
Succession and Land Transfer Planning Survey
American Farmland Trust, NRCS-Washington, Washington Association of Land Trusts, and the Washington State Conservation Commission Office of Farmland Preservation are working together to understand opportunities and needs for enhancing statewide farmland and ranchland succession and land transfer planning. We would like to hear from you how and if we can support your existing efforts or help you build new capacity to respond to landowners and land seekers regarding this topic. Click here to take the survey. Submissions are accepted through August 31, 2023. Your input is greatly appreciated.
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Events
Rally 2023, September 6-9, Portland, Oregon
Rally: The National Land Conservation Conference offers learning session focused on land conservation topics, networking events, exhibits, plenary sessions, and an awards presentation celebrating conservation leadership. Visit here for more information.
Tilth Conference, October 26-28, Fort Worden
The Tilth Conference is an annual event bringing together hundreds of farmers, food system professionals, composters, researchers and educators for more than 25 lectures, workshops and panel discussions that highlight Washington’s farmers and farm businesses. Visit here for more information.
Farm and Food Symposium, November 15-16, Spokane
This two-day, in-person event brings together progressive farmers, biological/regenerative ag companies and scientists, investors, consumers, and industry influencers to share experiences and best practices for regenerative farming. Visit here for more information.
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Job Announcements
Washington Farmland Trust (WFT) is hiring a Farmer Collectives Manager. Farm to Farmer is a full-service program that helps people and groups find the land opportunities they need to grow their farm businesses and/or promote food sovereignty, and landowners sell or lease their land to keep it in farming. The Farmer Collectives Manager will provide technical assistance to groups seeking farmland access across Washington and help shape creative land tenure and financing models to increase land access and ownership for marginalized communities. This is a full-time (36 hours/week) position with benefits. The salary range is $60,000-$62,000. This is largely a remote position that can be based anywhere in WA state with regular travel for meetings with farmers, events, and team gatherings. WFT will be holding a Meet & Greet, for anyone interested in learning more about the position before applying. Contact Nayla Jiménez Cabezas at naylajc@wafarmlandtrust.org if you are interested in scheduling for the Meet & Greet.
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Funding Opportunities
New Producer Grant
The New Producer Grant from AgWest Farm Credit is available for farmers with two years or less operational experience. The application deadline is 8/31.
If producers need assistance with some of the requirements of the grant (business plan writing, financial documentation, etc) they can get paired with a business coach from Business Impact Northwest at no cost. The first step is to go to https://businessimpactnw.org/food-business-resource-center/, scroll to the green box that says "Sign Up for Services," and click the "Register Now" button.
Save the Date: Fiscal Year 2024 ACEP-ALE Kickoff Workshop
NRCS-WA is hosting an informational webinar on October 5, 2023, from 12-2:30 pm in preparation for the fiscal year 2024 Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE) sign-up. The workshop will be held via Microsoft Teams. Registration is not required. More information forthcoming. Access the meeting by clicking here during the scheduled time. You can also subscribe to the NRCS Washington newsletter and news releases to stay up to date. Visit http://www.wa.nrcs.usda.gov and go to the bottom of the page to sign up.
Compost Reimbursement Program
The Washington State Legislature has allocated grant funding to reimburse Washington farmers for purchasing and spreading compost on their land. The Compost Reimbursement Program aims to encourage on-farm use of commercial compost. For eligible farms, the program will pay up to 50% of the cost to obtain, transport, and spread compost, not to exceed $10,000, per farm per year. Click here for more information.
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Agriculture in the News
Land Access
Conservation
Land Use
Solar
Drought
Markets
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