Information about the impacts and effectiveness of LAPIs is limited. Our project aims to fill critical gaps by answering the following questions:
- What values are guiding the creation and passage of these programs and how do they work?
- Who do LAPI programs help, what kinds of farms and farmers, on what scale?
- What impacts have they had on land management?
- How do they affect landowners’ and New Gen farmers’ interactions?
- What barriers do landowners and NewGen farmers face in their operations?
- What lessons can be learned about program design and what types of assistance are still needed?
Through engaging LAPI program creators and managers, surveys of beginning farmer and landowner participants in these programs, learning from non-participants, analyzing national data, convening advisory meetings with national land access experts, we expect to accomplish the following:
Overarching Project Goal: Increase knowledge of the impacts and reach of LAPI approaches, and build capacity among ag service providers to help small and mid-sized beginning farmers and ranchers access land.
Research Goals
- Chronicle the history and patterns of LAPI policy development to inform design of future LAPIs
- Increase knowledge of who LAPI programs are helping, who they aren’t reaching, and their impacts on land transfer, land access, beginning farmer and rancher success, and rural prosperity
- Provide guidance on effective methods of outreach to increase LAPI utilization by landowners and beginning farmers
- Provide insights about positive LAPI outcomes and the limits of existing LAPIs to Farm Bill advocates and legislators
Extension Goals
- Sustain a Community of Practice to support service providers to facilitate farm transfer and improve land access for the next generation of producers
- Increase promotion and utilization of LAPI programs through service provider networks, conferences, and e-Extension