An online tool from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) to connect current farmers considering retirement with beginning farmers looking for land has undergone a major upgrade.
Minnesota FarmLink, a listing service for Minnesota farms and land parcels for sale or rent, now offers users the ability to post, edit and delete their own listings. Visitors to the site also now have the opportunity to browse the listings without logging in to an account.
In addition to listings of farms and land parcels for sale or rent, FarmLink also has categories for Beginning/Emerging Farmers looking to work alongside a current farm owner on future ownership transition, current farmers looking for successors, job seekers and job postings, and mentorship/internship postings and seekers.
“We know from our work with Emerging Farmers that access to land is a key hurdle to getting more farmers into agriculture, so anything we can do to reduce that barrier will help our state,” Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said. “For farmers thinking about retirement who have no heir, this can be a good way to see their farms continue on.”
Listings that are for sale or rent will have contact information available on each posting. For other categories, to contact someone, you must create an account and be logged in, with a listing in the opposite category in order to connect (i.e., a job seeker must have a listing in the Job Seeker category to connect with a Job Posting).
Please note that all listings on the former FarmLink platform were deleted, so people who had listed previously will need to recreate those listings on the new platform.
More information about FarmLink is available on MDA’s website. Specific questions regarding FarmLink should be directed to Jim Ostlie at 320-842-6910 or email Jim.Ostlie@state.mn.us.