This panel will focus on how landowners can create a legacy of farmland conservation for their family and their land.

Many farm owners face retirement with concerns about the future of their land. Who will farm the land? How will it be farmed? Will it remain farmland at all? These questions are critical to the future of American agriculture. Nearly 300 million acres of agricultural land could change hands in the next 20 years. This amounts to one third of the land in farms in the contiguous U.S. This massive transfer of farmland from one generation to the next will have a huge impact on the future of farming. For over four decades American Farmland Trust has been working to protect farmland, promote sound farming practices and support farmers on the land. AFT’s expert staff works side-by-side with communities to plan for agriculture, advance effective state and federal policies and address the critical issues facing family farms today – including initiatives to assist farmers and farm owners to transfer their land to the next generation.