(LANSING) - As Michigan continues to lose farms and agricultural acreage, a statewide program is working to keep farmland in production by linking retiring farmers with the next generation of growers.
MiFarmLink, which expanded statewide in 2025, allows farm owners to list their operations and connect with people looking to start or continue farming, according to reporting by Bridge Michigan. The program is designed to prevent farmland from being sold for development and instead pass it on to new operators.
MiFarmLink functions as a matchmaking platform, pairing retiring farmers with prospective operators that include recent college graduates, military veterans and people entering agriculture from non-farming backgrounds. The initiative is supported through private philanthropy along with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state of Michigan.
The need is growing. Michigan's number of farms dropped from 47,200 in 2019 to about 44,000 in 2024. Total farmland declined from 9.8 million acres to 9.4 million over the same period. Rising costs, labor shortages and weather challenges have all contributed to the decline.
MiFarmLink currently lists about 60 farms looking for successors and more than 600 people seeking farming opportunities. Since its expansion, the program has facilitated 12 farm transitions.