Our Farms, Our Future: Uplifting the Next Generation of New York Farmers and Women in Agriculture

“Our Farms, Our Future” tells the story of New York’s farms in transition, as a third of our state’s farmers are now 65 and older and own two million acres of farmland that will be changing hands in the coming years. This massive shift in land ownership is unprecedented and the pace of farmland loss is increasing. Across the nation, we lose 2,000 acres of farmland every day to development and other uses that jeopardize farming. American Farmland Trust has worked tirelessly to protect farmland and keep farmers on the land, and we see an urgent opportunity to uplift and preserve the stories of those stewards of the land.

Building on the work of AFT’s previous photo exhibit in the Great Lakes region, “Our Farms, Our Future” is focused on the stories of keeping land in farming and of passing it on to a new generation, both within and outside of the traditional family farm. Increasingly, a diverse new generation is looking to farm, including women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ folks, and others who have been historically underserved by agricultural programs and continue to face barriers to get into farming. The exhibit features poignant images of farmers who are both exiting and entering the field, supplemented with written stories and select audio recordings of these farmers, capturing this critical moment in time.