Navigating Common Barriers to Land Access video series released
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EmailDeveloped by MIFarmLink and MSU Extension as part of the Key Components of a Successful Farm Negotiation SARE Grant.
The obstacles to accessing farmland can be challenging to navigate. For new farm operators, some of the obstacles you may experience include high lease rates, finding land that matches your needs and competition from other farms, or even competition from non-farm uses. Landowners may face different obstacles, including a lack of farmers interested in renting. For both parties, knowing where to start or what resources are available to help navigate these challenges is often the first obstacle to get past.
To aid farmers and landowners in navigating the challenges to land access, MIFarmLink and Michigan State University Extension have developed a series of educational videos. The videos are part of a SARE Partnership grant to identify common issues that hold up land transfer deals in Michigan. The grant project seeks to help identify not only barriers, but also which resources would be most useful to farmers wishing to acquire or pass on farms/farmland. Here are five of the topics explored as part of this grant project.
Conservation easements
A common question is “what are conservation easements?” In this video, Jill Dohner of MIFarmLink sits down with Rosie Pahl Donaldson with the Ann Arbor Greenbelt Program to answer that very question, providing insight into how conservation easements can be a useful tool for accessing farmland.
Land transfer navigators
In a series of videos, Jill Dohner sits down with Michigan Land Transfer Navigators Becky Huttenga and Will Manty to discuss farmland access, succession planning, farmland protection and the resources available to support both entering and exiting farmers. Videos include:
- What are Land Transfer Navigators?
- When to use a Land Transfer Navigator?
- How do navigators help bridge the gap between new and retiring farmers?
- What are resources that navigators can help farmers connect with?
- What does a typical land transfer process look like with navigator support?
- Navigator advice to farm families starting their succession journey?
The Land Transfer Navigator program is led by American Farmland Trust with support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.
Soft skills for accessing farmland
Soft skills are often referred to as people skills or abilities that help define how you interact with others to navigate various situations. In this video, MSU Extension Educator Cheyenne Sloan moderates a discussion between fellow educator Chris Bardenhagen and a local farmer to discuss how soft skills can aid in accessing farmland.
Land rent do’s and don’ts
The process of negotiating a lease can be challenging for both landowners and those seeking to lease land alike. Knowing how to work through that process and what to include in a lease agreement helps to set up a productive conversation for both parties. In this video, Cheyenne Sloan sits down with fellow educators Chris Bardenhagen and Jonathan LaPorte to discuss the do’s and don’ts of renting land.
Identifying common barriers to land access
This video provides a summary of survey results conducted over the summer of 2025, in which farmers and landowners were asked to provide their feedback on obstacles or challenges that they’ve experienced or observed. The information received was instrumental in the development of the educational videos developed through the grant. A handout document of the video slides is also available for download.
All of the videos are accessible through the MSU Extension Farmland Leasing website and MIFarmLink’s YouTube channel.
