An evaluation of the federal Transition Incentives Program on land access for next-generation farmers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2024.132.006
Keywords:
farm bill, farming, land access, food systems, federal policy, beginning farmers, farmers of color, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, transitionAbstract
Next-generation farmers face immense challenges in securing land. In recent years, some state- and federal-level land access policy incentives (LAPIs) have been implemented to address these challenges. In this paper, we assess the Transition Incentives Program (TIP), an initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Reserve Program that is funded by Congressional farm bills. TIP offers landowners two years of financial incentives for leasing or selling to a beginning or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher (categories of farmers defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture). In our study, we characterize TIP participants to understand where and how TIP assists beginning and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Our findings demonstrate that TIP serves some landowners and next-generation farmers, primarily in the Midwest and Mountain West. We demonstrate a spatial mismatch between where next-generation farmers live and high rates of TIP participation. Variable participation may be due to inconsistent outreach and limits to the program design. We identify key barriers and provide insights to improve TIP and other land access programs for next-generation farmers.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Megan Horst, Julia Valliant, Julia Freedgood
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