A program of Montgomery Countryside Alliance helping farmland and farmers find each other ...
Land Link has matched 33 new and expanding farmers with long term leases . Here are just a few of the farmers that are still seeking land through the program .
Farmer Seeking Land An African with 30 + years experience in farming back in my country and 4 years experience in gardening here in USA looking for one acre of land to produce vegetables , and if possible , poultry to give my community the best vegetables and chicken . I will soon complete Beginning Farmers Training Program 2023 with Eco City Farm and would like to apply my new knowledge learned .
Farmer seeking land I have 6 years of farming experience in Africa . I am looking for under 5 acres to sustainably grow African vegetables for my community .
Farmer seeking land Farmer with decades of experience looking for a piece of land to grow jicama , beans , corn varieties , radishes , cilantro , or other foods culturally appropriate for the Central American community . Open to smaller acreage .
Farmer seeking land I am a personal private chef with 10 years farming experience looking for land for lease to grow crops and plants for the ingredients I use for my customers . In addition , I also make specialty food products like cashew hummus , almond dips , flax pesto . I would like to grow garlic , herbs , paprika , and red bell peppers for making the products . Any land with easy access to water where I can use a greenhouse in cold seasons would be great .
Farmer seeking land Farmer with 10 years experience seeking to raise sheep and goats for meats for the greater Ethiopian , Eritrean and other communities , including restaurants . I would have like maximum of 5 acres and a minimum of 2 acres .
Learn more : www . mocolandlink . org Bethesda Beat profiled The Faces of Land Link : bit . ly / BBLandLink
Farmer Maiya Lay ( right ) of Love Bug Farm planting fall kale and collards with a volunteer in the shared high tunnel at the Urban Farm Incubator in Upper Marlboro , MD .
Food System Resilience — Not a Moment or New Farmer to Waste
In the intervening years since Montgomery County ’ s farm incubator was proposed , further compelling rationale for the initiative has emerged . Tanya Spandhla of Passion to Seed Gardening notes that children involved in their local food system can , by visiting and volunteering with the incubator farms , “ gain hand-on knowledge of where their food comes from and how it ’ s grown which might trigger a desire to consider farming as a career path .” She adds , “ With so many challenges swirling around food security , the incubator could also play a role in locally feeding the supply chain of fresh produce to our communities and schools .” The incubator is also poised to provide needed guidance to advance innovative regenerative growing practices . Moreover , with the creation of the County ’ s new Office of Food Systems Resilience last fall , there will be additional opportunities to advance the incubator project , including identifying funding through various federal , state , and private grants . Montgomery County is fortunate to have a number of sturdy non-profits that can help collaborate to advance the incubator . And as Kristina Bostick rightly observes , “ planting farmers together just makes sense — shared resources and the opportunity to support and learn from each other .”
Caroline Taylor is the executive director of Montgomery Countryside Alliance and lives with her family on beloved small acreage in the Agricultural Reserve .
Photo : Jon Berger
learn more or how to help visit : mocoalliance . org / incubator