Maryland FarmLINK Launched

Posted by chris on April 10, 2010

The Maryland farming community has an innovative new resource created to bring farmers together, along with relevant professionals, to educate and inform each other on the business of farming, to link buyers and sellers of farm land in Maryland and to find business partners, apprentices and mentors: www.MarylandFarmLINK.com.

The Maryland FarmLINK Web site was first conceived by the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC) to help current Maryland farms remain in agricultural usage by linking those selling or leasing farm land in Maryland with potential buyers across the country searching for farm land.

Throughout the site’s development, several other powerful functions were added. An open Farm Forum provides a venue for individuals to ask questions on farm-related topics. Members with expertise on specific topics are encouraged to give answers/advice and the content generated in the discussions becomes a permanent resource within the site.

The aim of FarmLINK is to build a strong foundation of members with a wide range of expertise in farming specialties. Categories within the forum include things like agritourism, growing grapes for wine, equine, dairy, hay, apiary, pest management, turf and produce. However, the site also encompasses the broader aspects of farming as a business, including advertising, financial planning and legal information and professionals in these types of fields are encouraged to participate.

A Person-to-Person function of FarmLINK allows members to identify and contact other members who are willing to partner, mentor or give advice on specific farm-related topics. Members may communicate directly with each other, using messaging tools within the site, to arrange partnerships or land transactions or simply to mentor one-on-one.

The Property Manager component of the site, where farm owners list land for sale or lease, contains photos, descriptions and contact information for each property. To be listed, land must be in Maryland and meet the state’s criteria for farm land. FarmLINK’s role in land sales is limited to providing a venue for buyers and sellers to find and contact each other. SMADC does not broker the transaction. Buyers and sellers assume full responsibility for screening and vetting, and the actual sale takes place outside of the FarmLINK venue.

A sophisticated database and a dynamic user interface have been custom built to form the platform of this site. Much of the site content is visible to anyone visiting the site, however, visitors must join FarmLINK if they want to ask or answer questions in the forum or contact another FarmLINK member, including those selling farm land, directly. There is no cost to become a member.

To join, users fill out a member profile, where they list their areas of expertise (if any) and indicate if they are searching for a specific type of connection (business partner, for example). They can also indicate that they are willing to mentor or answer specific questions via the site messaging function. Members who do not want to be contacted directly by other members can opt out of this and still participate in the open forum discussions.

The heart of the FarmLINK site will be the content generated by the farm community and related professionals and will build over time. However, the site also contains a selection of traditional tools such as sample farm leases, estate planning webinars and links to other agricultural resource sites. This part of the site is still in development.

The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC) was established to promote diverse, market-driven agricultural enterprises, which coupled with agricultural land preservation, will preserve Southern Maryland’s environmental resources and rural character while keeping the region’s farmland productive and the agricultural economy vibrant.
To learn more about additional programs and resources, contact SMADC, P. O. Box 745, Hughesville, MD 20637; phone: 301-274-1922; fax: 301-274-1924; email cbergmark@smadc.com; or visit www.smadc.com.