Farm viability network outlines land-access and transfer supports, cites gaps in legal capacity and funding

Liz Gleeson, program director for the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board's Farm and Forest Viability Program, told the House Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry Committee the state benefits from a broad network of service providers that help farmers with business planning, transfer and land access. She urged sustained and expanded funding for those services and for affordability tools such as conservation easements.

Gus (program staff) and Jake Claro, director of the Farm to Plate program at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, joined the presentation to outline specific gaps: a statewide shortage of attorneys and tax accountants familiar with farm transfers; pressures on federal conservation funding; and affordability challenges as farmland prices rise.

Why it matters: succession and land access shape whether farms remain in production. Witnesses said many Vermont farms are reaching transfer decisions: the average operator age is high, and a large share of acreage lacks an engaged producer under…