Farms for the Future: Massachusetts - American Farmland Trust

Massachusetts’ Investments in Farmland ConservationFarm Viability Enhancement Program: Connecting Farms with ConsumersAt Diemand Farm in Wendell, plans to expand the refrigeration capacity are underway, madepossible by the FVEP. This is the second time the farm has made use of the program; the farmowes its current success in large part, says the Diemand family, to changes made through earlierbusiness planning and funding through the program.Before Diemand Farm enrolled in the FVEP, customers who wished to purchase the farm’s eggswould pick them up from a self-serve outdoor refrigerator on the farm. The farm’s turkey potpieswere popular, but the farm produced only about 50 of them a year. The FVEP grant changed this.Business planning allowed the family to explore the expansion of its product line and the constructionof a farm store. A Phase II grant put the plan into action.Today the farm sells eggs, fresh turkeys and chickens, turkey potpies, soups, ground turkey, fruitpies and cookies, maple syrup, honey and compost. The farm’s store employs one full-time andtwo part-time staff, and production of turkey potpies has multiplied to several hundred a year.Diemand Farm products can now be found in University of Massachusetts dining halls and inthe Cooley Dickinson Hospital café and are available at local grocery stores and through a homedelivery service. Expanding the refrigeration capacity will open the door to further market opportunities,helping the family meet growing demand for its products.Program DemandDemand for the FVEP has been relatively constant.In the past five years, the program received 293applications, 68 of which went unfunded. Whilesome of these applications were deemed ineligible,some would likely have been funded had theresources been available. As older covenantsexpire, many program participants are seekingrenewal contracts to implement other componentsof their viability plan. Since 2004, 25 renewalapplications have been accepted. 33Leveraging Private DollarsAs with any type of business, farm upgrades andexpansions can be costly. The FVEP has helpedleverage bank financing for farm business improvementsand additional farm owner investments.Of FVEP participants to date, 73 percent haveinvested additional funds to complete improvementsdescribed in their viability plans. The totalestimated value of these leveraged funds is overSeventy-three percent of FVEP participantscontribute additional funds to implementtheir viability plans, at an averageof $31,791 per farm. 35Other Farm Viability ProgramsIn addition to the FVEP, a number of smaller programsare funded through the “farm viability”capital account.ACCELERATED CONSERVATIONPLANNING PARTNERSHIPWell-managed farms can provide multiple environmentalbenefits, from carbon sequestration towater filtration to wildlife habitat. While somefarming practices that provide habitat, conservewater or energy, or reduce fertilizer or pesticideuse are inexpensive to implement, others can becomplicated and expensive. Accordingly, severalfederal and state conservation programs havebeen created to help farmers plan for and adoptconservation measures. One such program is thestate’s Accelerated Conservation PlanningPartnership (ACPP), a program that helps farmersidentify the type of conservation practices thatmake sense for their farm.ACPP’s conservation planners provide farmersand other landowners with information aboutstate and federal farm conservation programs.The program has developed conservation plansfor more than 15,000 acres in nine Massachusettscounties, helping to ensure landowner eligibilityfor these programs. Participants in the APR$6 million. 34 13American Farmland Trust