Most states have statutes to allow leasing of state-owned land for agriculture. This can be an affordable option for beginning farmers and ranchers to access land. Often, state land lease programs include property oversight to ensure that agricultural activities on leased sites are consistent with program objectives. Land leasing programs can also occur at the local level. 

Beginning Farmer Loan Programs provide low-interest loans, loan guarantees, and loan participation programs to help producers buy land, buildings, equipment and breeding livestock. Some programs, including “Aggie Bond” programs, are targeted specifically to beginning farmers. The National Council of State Agricultural Finance Programs tracks available programs and produces a comprehensive directory of state-level programs available to beginning and established producers 

Beginning Farmer Tax Credits (BFTC) offer agricultural asset owners a state income tax credit if they lease land, equipment, livestock and/or buildings to beginning farmers. Details vary from state to state, but typically a landowner will receive a personal property tax exemption or a tax credit in exchange for making land or equipment available to a beginning producer. As of September 2023, six states Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have implemented BFTC programs. 

Buy-Protect-Sell (BPS) is a strategy used by some public agencies and land trusts to protect land and facilitate its transfer to a beginning farmer or rancher. A public agency or land trust will work with partners to purchase land in fee, place an easement on it, and then sell the protected property to a farmer or rancher.  

Washington state established two programs to work in tandem to encourage buy-protect-sell transactions. The Farm Protection and Affordability Investment (Farm PAI) program provides conservation entities with low-interest loans for the fee-simple acquisition of at-risk farmland. Entities that have secured a loan through FarmPAI can apply to the Farmland Protection and Land Access (FPLA) program to fund an agricultural conservation easement to protect the land. The conservation entity then sells the protected property to a farmer or rancher (with priority given to buyers who represent historically underserved and/or new and beginning farmers and ranchers) and repays the original FarmPAI loan. 

A new and rare approach to land access, down payment assistance programs, provides direct financial support to beginning farmers and ranchers to purchase land.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has a down payment assistance grant which offers up to $15,000 to qualified farmers purchasing their first farm. The program is administered by the MDA’s Rural Finance Authority (RFA).

Farmland Purchase and Protection Incentives (FPPI) provide financing to beginning farmers to purchase farmland while protecting it with an agricultural conservation easement. The easement proceeds are passed through to the original seller, reducing the overall cost of buying the land to the beginning farmer. Delaware and Maryland have implemented successful programs to help first time farm buyers afford land.

Delaware Young Farmers Loan Program, administered by the Delaware Agricultural Lands Preservation Foundation, provides 30-year no-interest loans to new farmers for the purchase of farmland. Loans can be up to 70% of the value of the farm’s development rights. Farmland purchased using these funds is protected with an agricultural conservation easement held by the state.

Maryland Rural Land Preservation Facilitation Programs, managed by the Maryland Agricultural & Resource Based-Industry Development Corporation (MARBIDCO) offer financing to young and beginning farmers to purchase farmland while protecting it with an agricultural conservation easement. The Next Generation Farmland Acquisition Program (Next Gen Program) is for farms of 50 acres or more and the Small Acreage Next Generation program (SANG) is geared toward parcels between 10 and 49 acres. MARBIDCO buys an option to purchase an easement capped at a percentage of the fair market value of the land—51% for the Next Gen Program and between 40-60% for SANG. Participants work with their county agricultural preservation program to apply to the state or local PACE program. If the beginning farmer is unable to sell an easement in the specified time, the option is exercised for no additional money, and a permanent easement is conveyed to a third-party easement holder designated by MARBIDCO.

Farm link programs, also known as land link programs, are designed to make connections between landowners and land seekers. While programs vary from state to state, they typically involve a website or listing service, for landowners and land seekers to advertise land they have or land they are looking for. Some programs employ staff to help facilitate connections, others make contact information available for owners and seekers to connect online. Some operate in partnership with private or non-profit organizations.  

An Option to Purchase at Agricultural Value (OPAV), also known as Preemptive Purchase Right, is a voluntary legal agreement between a landowner and an entity—either a land trust or public farmland protection program—that allows the entity to purchase the land when it is offered for sale in the future and requires that land be sold at a price that reflects its agricultural value, rather than a price influenced by non-farming market demand. This agreement is often contained within an agricultural conservation easement. While not entirely effective for affordability when used alone, OPAVs are successful in keeping land at agricultural value.  

Massachusetts and Vermont state PACE programs were the first to adopt this approach and now other state and local governments and land trusts are adapting this mechanism.   

Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement programs (PACE), also known as Purchase of Development Rights (PDR), protect agricultural land from conversion to non-farm use. Landowners voluntarily sell agricultural conservation easements to a government agency or private conservation organization that is responsible for enforcing the easement. Conservation easements restrict further development of the property while allowing landowners to retain other rights of ownership. Some programs also buy land in fee, protect it with an easement, and then sell it to a producer. This strategy—often called Buy-Protect-Sell—may be used to facilitate the transfer of threatened land and ensure it passes to another producer (see Buy-Protect-Sell section above).

PACE programs, alone, do not guarantee future affordability or land access for beginners.  However, proceeds from the sale of easements provide capital for landowners to invest in their operations or retirement. This funding can help facilitate the transfer of agricultural land to the next generation. Additionally, permanently protected land is usually more affordable because the agricultural conservation easement limits future non-farm development, which decreases the fair market value. In 2019, Pennsylvania lawmakers enacted the Beginning Farmer Realty Transfer Tax Exemption establishing a more direct link between PACE and land access. Land protected through the state’s PACE program is exempt from the state’s real estate transfer tax when transferred to a qualified beginning farmer.

Municipalities and counties with available land can lease land to beginning farmers and ranchers. This can support them accessing secure and affordable land as they start or expand their operations. For example, the Lawrence, Kansas, municipal government leases vacant land to gardeners and urban farmers through the Common Ground Agricultural Program. The program includes incubator and teaching farms, community gardens, and a free pick-your own orchard. The city provides access to water and infrastructure and—in exchange for free use of the land—lessees donate produce to local food banks. Boulder County Parks & Open Space protected agricultural lands are leased to qualified farmers and ranchers with a focus on applying regenerative practices and improving soil health. 

Several steps are required to create a successful public land leasing program, starting with an inventory of land that is available and suitable for agriculture and food production. Leasing arrangements must serve both parties’ interests and address tricky issues such as allowing public access, building structures, keeping livestock, and spreading manure. 

Land banks are public authorities or non-profit organizations established to acquire and repurpose or revitalize abandoned, vacant, tax delinquent, or distressed properties. They are solely focused on converting problem properties into productive use to meet local community goals. 

Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement programs (PACE), also known as Purchase of Development Rights (PDR), protect agricultural land from conversion to non-farm use. Landowners voluntarily sell agricultural conservation easements to a government agency or private conservation organization that is responsible for enforcing the easement. Conservation easements restrict further development of the property while allowing landowners to retain other rights of ownership. Some programs also buy land in fee, protect it with an easement, and then sell it to a producer. This strategy—often called Buy-Protect-Sell (see Buy-Protect-Sell section)—may be used to facilitate the transfer of threatened land and ensure it passes to another producer. Local PACE programs are typically managed by local governments (e.g., counties or municipalities). 

PACE programs, alone, do not guarantee future affordability or land access for beginners.  However, proceeds from the sale of easements provide capital for landowners to invest in their operations or retirement. This funding can help facilitate the transfer of agricultural land to the next generation. Additionally, permanently protected land is usually more affordable because the agricultural conservation easement limits future non-farm development, which decreases the fair market value.