The Three F’s of Farmland: Finding It, Funding It, and The Future of It
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EmailFebruary 29, 2024
Land access is often the biggest challenge for beginning farmers. Learn tools to find farmland, fund it, and to keep it farmland for future generations.
Session speakers include:
- Ann Allen and Amber Echlin from GreenStone Farm Credit Services.
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- Ann grew up in Grand Traverse County on a 40-cow dairy, and was involved in 4-H for 15 years showing dairy feeders and beef steers. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science at Michigan State University. She started her professional career at NorthStar Cooperative, now Central Star, in East Lansing, MI. Annie moved to Wexford County in 2010 when she started working for GreenStone FCS as a loan officer, servicing Wexford, Missaukee, Manistee & Osceola Counties. She took a promotion in 2018 as a Regional VP of Sales and Customer Relations where she leads a group of 10 loan officers in the North Region . She also co-leads the young, beginning, and small farmer program, CultivateGrowth. She recently moved back to her roots of Grand Traverse County and bought 13 acres of family property where she’s building a home with her husband.
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- Amber serves as the Public Relations Specialist at GreenStone Farm Credit Services. With over five years of dedicated service, Amber assists in coordinating GreenStone's CultivateGrowth program, providing essential resources to young, beginning, and small farmers. She is passionate about connecting the next generation of agriculture with the tools and resources to take their operation to the next level. Amber also facilitates GreenStone’s outreach efforts and partnerships with other leading organizations in the agriculture industry to ensure GreenStone offers supporting beyond financing.
- Jill Dohner and Becky Huttenga from MIFarmLink.
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- Jill works with a group of passionate agricultural advocates from across Michigan to grow the MiFarmLink program, an effort started in Ottawa County that helps preserve farmland by connecting agricultural landowners looking to sell/lease land with beginning farmers looking for land to farm. She graduated from Michigan Technological University with a Master's in Forest Ecology and Management. Jill owns Rustic Roots Farm where she tends honeybees, poultry, goats, a fruit orchard and garden, greenhouse production, and woodworking. Jill has served on the Washtenaw County Conservation District board for 10 years prior and has experience in forestry, including tree planting organizations, agriculture, and working with a diversity of farmers.
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- Becky is a lifelong resident of Ottawa County, grew up as a 4-H kid on a 24-acre hobby farm in Spring Lake Township before heading off to Michigan State University where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Animal Science. She then completed 30 credits hours of Masters level graduate study in Animal Science at MSU. Becky developed quite a diverse resume, from nutritional sales at Purina Mills to restaurant management at her family’s Grand Haven business to Program Assistant for Michigan State University Extension’s 4-H program. But her passion for being the bridge between natural resources and agriculture began when she became Executive Director at the Ottawa Conservation District in 2011 and continues today with her work at Ottawa County in farmland protection, agriculture advocacy, and economic development.