Farmers -- young, old and new -- celebrate Sebastopol's California FarmLink

Prospective farmers need land and capital to start their businesses, and for 10 years a non-profit based in Sebastopol has been offering them help.

California FarmLink seeks to connect such aspiring farmers with landowners, including older farmers scaling back their operations.

The group, which on Sunday celebrated its first decade of operation, also offers programs to help families create succession plans so farmers and their heirs can grapple with how to “keep this legacy going,” said FarmLink Executive Director Steve Schwartz.

“It's probably the hardest thing a family farmer faces,” Schwartz said. For many farmers, the word “retirement” is not in their vocabularies.

About 120 FarmLink supporters gathered Sunday at Oak Hill Farm near Glen Ellen to celebrate the group's 10th anniversary. The day featured local foods, a tour of the farm and a retrospective of the group's efforts to preserve family farming.

In the last decade FarmLink has served 3,000 farmers in California with business and marketing plans, financing and succession planning. The group, which has field offices in Davis and Santa Cruz, has conducted training events in 34 counties around the state.

Ann Chambers of Sebastopol turned to FarmLink when her husband fell ill and she was left to tend their farm.

“I was panicking, trying to take care of over 5 acres by myself,” she said Sunday.

FarmLink helped her find three people who wanted to lease her land for agricultural purposes. One man farms the 400 apple trees, and another grows wisteria on part of the land. George Marcos, a 28-year-old transplant from Long Island, N.Y., leases enough space for his 72-foot greenhouse.

“I decided to take a gamble and try some large-scale gardening,” Marcos said.

He quit his part-time teaching job this summer to grow vegatables full time for his business Earthworker Farm. He sells his produce at the Sebastopol farmer's market. FarmLink connected him with Chambers two years ago.

“They didn't only help me get land, they hooked me up with an accountant,” he said.

This year, FarmLink helped 11 new farmers in Sonoma County obtain contracts to lease land, Schwartz said. Overall, it has helped nearly 100 farmers lease land in the state.

The group is one of about 10 non-profits in the U.S. that provide loans for farmers, in its case up to $100,000. It also provides services for immigrants who don't speak English to help them learn how to develop business plans and obtain financing.

And FarmLink was the first group in the nation to offer new farmers a program to build up both a nest egg and a track record of creditworthiness, Schwartz said.

Under the program, the farmer puts $100 a month in an Individual Development Account for two years. FarmLink matches with $300 and in two years the farmer has $9,600 that can be used to purchase farm equipment or to make a down payment on land. Banks provide grants to finance the program.

The accounts, an idea used in urban business development, served as a model for a pilot program in the nation's 2008 Farm Bill. Supporters now are trying to persuade Congress to set aside $5 million to start the pilot.

Terry Harrison, a Healdsburg farmer who with his wife, Carolyn, owned the Sonoma Antique Apple Nursery for two decades, said FarmLink helped him connect with a young farmer who went on to lease part of his land to grow heritage tomatoes.

“It's very difficult for starting farmers to get into it because of the high land prices in Sonoma County,” said Harrison, president of the North Bay chapter of the Davis-based Community Alliance with Family Farmers.

FarmLink has “enabled a lot of young farmers to get started,” he said.

The program helped Joel and Carleen Weirauch of Penngrove find land to graze their 15 sheep, which they use to make soap. They hope to grow their flock and start a dairy and creamery. But buying land in Sonoma County is too expensive, and their searches in other states never came through.

“We've been looking for over five years,” Joel Weirauch said.

His wife, Carleen, added, “It's still very difficult to get into farming.”

“In Sonoma County, the value of the land has exceeded the amount you can get from farming it,” Joel Weirauch said.

The solution for them, and others, is to connect with farmers already established on land.

And for long-time farm owners, such as Chambers, who are ready to retire, finding someone to continue working the land is a huge benefit.

“It's fabulous,” she said.

Staff Writer Nathan Halverson contributed to this story. You can reach Staff Writer Robert Digitale at 521-5285 or robert.digitale@pressdemocrat.com