Aquidneck Land Trust (“ALT”) recently announced the launch of Farmlink Aquidneck, an online resource for Rhode Island farmers. Created to address concerns specific to local farmers, Farmlink Aquidneck provides information on topics such as farm support organizations, workshops, succession and business planning, and professional references.
“ALT has always been committed to preserving farmland and supporting agriculture on Aquidneck Island. Farmlink Aquidneck furthers those efforts and provides a new way for ALT to share information and resources to the farming community,” said Alex Chuman, ALT’s Stewardship Director. One of Farmlink’s primary features, Land-Link, connects those with farmland available for sale or lease to those seeking it.
“Access to farmland – both for purchase and for lease – is a problem for many on our island and in the state. We frequently receive calls from folks looking for land to farm, both for small plots and large. The Land-Link site will make it easier to connect landowners with farmers looking for land,” said Chuman.
Since its unveiling in late December, Land-Link has listed two properties with available farmland. One is Spruce Acres Farm, a former tree farm now owned and conserved by ALT on the Middletown/Portsmouth border. It features plots under one acre in size, available for the 2019 growing season. A second property, Highfield Farm, is located on Peckham Avenue in Middletown and offers nine acres of farmland for short- or long-term lease.
Farmlink Aquidneck was created to address the findings from ALT’s Farmland Conservation Plan, completed in 2016. The plan focused on ways to protect farmland and increase the viability of farming on Aquidneck Island, using a combination of literature research, farmer surveys, farmer interviews, on-the-ground knowledge, and spatial data to inform its findings. It was underwritten by the van Beuren Charitable Foundation, as was the creation of the Farmlink Aquidneck resource. Both may be seen at https://ailt.org/farmlink-aquidneck/.
