October 12, 2021
Announcing Development of Farm and Ranch Transition Services at K-State Department of Ag Economics
We have some very exciting news to share! The Department of Agricultural Economics at Kansas State University is in the process of developing resources and services specifically for transitioning agricultural operations, and beginning farmers and ranchers. An office is being created in the department with three main initial services:
• A land-link program to introduce exiting farmers/landowners with beginning farmers/ranchers through an application and curated matching process.
• One-on-one technical services by a K-State Farm Analyst to facilitate transition of an existing farm/ranch operation.
• An extensive training program for beginning farmers/ranchers to master critical financial and business skills.
Partnering agencies, which will serve as an advisory board, include Kansas Farm Management Association, Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Bankers Association, Kansas Farm Bureau, Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Farm Service Agency, Kansas Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Kansas Grazing Land Coalition.
The first step in getting these services up and running is to hire a director for this office. A position was released last Friday for this: https://careers.k-state.edu/cw/en-us/job/511570/director-of-the-office-of-farm-and-ranch-transition.
The position is secured for 3 years with another 3-year commitment by KSRE leadership to help support this program. Long-term plans are to make this a self-sustaining program that will function as part of KSRE. If you know of someone who would be good for this role, please encourage them to apply, or contact Robin Reid.
Again, we are extremely excited that this initiative will be coming to fruition! We all know the need is immense across our state for transition planning assistance, and to support beginning farmers and ranchers. We hope to have this service up and running early in 2022 with a dedicated website, phone line and email.
--Robin Reid, Extension Associate
--Allen Featherstone, Ag. Economics Department Head
--Kevin Herbel, Kansas Farm Management Association Director