Access Farmland in Northwest Arkansas

Name*

Address*

Mobile*

Email*

Spouse or partner:

IS THIS PERSON A CO-APPLICANT?*

Yes
No

What is your Level of farming experience? Please check all that apply.

Level of Farming Experience

Applicant Required Information:

Complete the following:

How many years have you been farming?*

(either paid for work or farming on your own)

How many acres in production at one time are you farming or have you farmed?*

DO YOU CURRENTLY OWN AND OPERATE A FARM BUSINESS?*

Yes
No

If Yes, what is the name of the farm business?*

HAVE YOU FILED A SCHEDULE F IRS TAX RETURN ASSOCIATED WITH THE FARM BUSINESS?*

Yes
No

Describe your past or current primary farming enterprise:*

(FOR EXAMPLE: FRUIT/VEGETABLE, COW/CALF, HAYMAKING, MARKET OR WHOLESALE, FLOWERS, ORCHARDS, LIVESTOCK, DAIRY, TIMBER, OTHER)

Describe your past or current secondary farming enterprise:

ARE YOU EMPLOYED BY A COMMERCIAL FARM IN ANY CAPACITY?*

Yes
No

What is the name of the farm?*

What is your position or responsibilities at the farm?*

May we contact your farm employer?*

Yes
No

Do you have experience with greenhouses?*

Yes
No

If yes, please describe your experience*

Do you have experience with high tunnels?*

Yes
No

If yes, please describe your experience with high tunnels*

Do you have experience with pack sheds?*

Yes
No

If so, please describe your experience*

Do you have experience with any farm/production equipment?*

Yes
No

If yes, describe the specific farm equipment applicable to your experience*

Do you have any experience with irrigation by well water?*

Yes
No

If yes, please describe your experience*

Can you tell us more about your experience with food safety? Have you attended any classes or have you received any certifications related to food safety?

EXPERIENCE WITH PRIMARY PRODUCTION METHODS (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)*

Conventional
Organic
Certified Naturally Grown
Other

DO YOU HAVE AN INTEREST IN REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES?*

Yes
No

(FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS APPLICATION, REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES HELP BUILD SOIL HEALTH, AND MAY INCLUDE LOW TILL AND COVER CROPPING AMONG OTHER EFFORTS).

ARE YOU WILLING TO IMPLEMENT REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES?*

Yes
No

Have you ever received USDA-NRCS technical or financial assistance for conservation practices or farm loans from the USDA-Farm Service Agency? If so, please describe the practices and/or loans and when you received them.

DO YOU OR A PARTNER/SPOUSE WORK OFF THE FARM AT ANOTHER JOB IN ADDITION TO YOUR CURRENT WORK FARMING?*

Yes
No

DO YOU OR YOUR PARTNER/SPOUSE INTEND TO HAVE OTHER EMPLOYMENT IF YOU ARE ACCEPTED INTO THE PROGRAM?*

Yes
No

HOW WILL YOU FINANCE YOUR FARM OPERATION? (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY)*

Need Help with Financing
Pre-approved financing with traditional lender
Family Financed
Investor Financed
Self-financed

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION (UPLOAD DOCUMENTS)

Provide to info@nwafarmlink.org all relevant materials, including, but not limited to the following:

At least one letter of recommendation highlighting your farming experience, and general work experience;
750-word description as to how to the Program will help you achieve your business and personal goals;
Business plan including financial projections; and
Farm plan including production methods and conservation practices.

File

Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Farmland Lease Program

The Northwest Arkansas Land Trust (NWALT) is an Arkansas nonprofit corporation based in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In consultation with its grant funders, NWALT has created and is engaged in the management and administration of the Program. The primary purpose of the Program is to help underserved farmers gain access to farmland in Northwest Arkansas to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs and similar crops, and to provide them access to education, training and support. Applicants must submit a business plan with a primary focus of the farming operation dedicated to wholesale production. (For the purposes of this program wholesale is defined as the production of fruits and/or vegetables specifically at quantities suitable to sell to grocery stores, institutions restaurants, and other channels). Applicants to the Program must be willing to focus on cultivating such crops using best management practices to foster healthy soils for a participation period up to five-years pursuant to the terms of a Sublease Agreement with NWALT. Long term leasing beyond the initial five-year term is an objective of the Program. A copy of the Sublease Agreement and terms will be provided to approved applicants by NWALT. ).

NWALT currently anticipates that it will accept at least three applicants for the Program (the "Participants"), who will each farm separate adjacent tracts of land managed by NWALT. Each tract of farmland will be part of a larger parcel of property managed by NWALT totaling approximately 100 acres of farmland in the aggregate (the “Property”). Shared infrastructure such as water access, a pack shed and some equipment will be made available to Participants, but applicants are encouraged to have access to any specialized equipment they may need for their specific farm/business plan and enterprise. Participants may have the option to establish temporary housing on designated areas of their subtract to live on the Property during their lease period. In the event a Participant stops growing permissible crops while participating in the Program, NWALT shall have the right, but not the obligation, to terminate the Participant’s Sublease Agreement, in which event NWALT will find a replacement tenant for the Program and make the property available to such replacement tenant.

Each Participant is responsible for paying its costs and expenses related to such Participant’s farming operation and enterprise and certain administrative costs to NWALT to assist with NWALT’s management and administration of the Program. NWALT will advise Participants of the expected costs as it evaluates each Participant’s business plan. Possible costs and fees may include, but are not limited to, the following: security deposits, rent, storage fees, the cost of access to and use of shared equipment on the Property, utility fees and business insurance, and other inputs specific to their business plans (for example, cost of seeds, deer fencing, soil amendments).

Diversified farm plans are encouraged, and a Participant may engage in other pre-approved farm enterprises in addition to the primary farm enterprise of growing fruits and/or vegetables, including small scale livestock or poultry production, agritourism and any other legal farm activities under Federal or Arkansas law, in each case as pre-approved by NWALT. Notwithstanding the foregoing and for the avoidance of doubt, Participants are prohibited from engaging in the cultivation and sale of cannabis or marijuana (medical or recreational), which, while legal for medical usage under the laws of the state of Arkansas, is still illegal pursuant to current Federal law.

The application process for the Program may take up to a few weeks in order for NWALT to adequately review all applications. Each applicant is encouraged to seek advice from an attorney to review this opportunity throughout each stage of the process. The undersigned applicant’s agreement to the terms of this Memorandum of Understanding allows NWALT to continue to process the applicant’s application for consideration.

This is a new program and NWALT will be learning along with the participants what may work best to improve affordable land access for underserved farmers specifically focused on fruit and or vegetable production at scale. While we have done a lot of research to structure a successful program for participants, results may vary. There is some degree of uncertainty in how the Farmland Lease Program may evolve. This is an exciting time for all those working to improve the NWA Food System, and we hope you will be a part of this effort.

Further consideration of this application by NWALT does not guarantee that Applicant will be accepted as a Participant in the Program.

I, Applicant, have read and understand the foregoing memorandum of understanding and wish to proceed with submission of my application.

Agree*

Signature*

Date(Date the form was submitted)*

Farmland Lease Program Application

Applicant Required Information:

ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION (UPLOAD DOCUMENTS)

Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Farmland Lease Program