Appeal for the Farms Forever Fund

Dear friends, 

We are asking today for your one-time gift to reach two core goals of the Farms Forever Initiative – the protection of organic farmland as a commons across generations and the transition from a retiring to a new farmer steward. 

In past years, hundreds of volunteers joined with this community of farmers and eaters to successfully remove ecologically sensitive lands out of the speculative marketplace and place them into a ‘land commons’, protected in perpetuity for organic-biodynamic agriculture, farming education, and land conservation.

Our community built on the success of the 2012 ‘Save the 70’ campaign by forming the AOA Community Land Trust and launching three successful campaigns to purchase & protect land in perpetuity:

• 39 acres in 2014 - AOA secured majority ownership in AO North LLC,   

• 23 acres in 2016 - AOA purchased the Peterson Farmstead that hosts buildings of both John Peterson (formerly Angelic Organics CSA) and Farmers Rising (formerly Angelic Organics Learning Center), and

• 10 acres in 2017 - AOA purchased a neighboring farmstead for the ‘launch the lodge’ campaign and to add 10 acres to the protected land commons

In 2026, AOA’s volunteer trustees believe that the best path forward - to facilitate farm succession and protect the commons - is a four-party deal based on farmer John’s proposed farm succession plan: John sells his buildings, we welcome a new farmer steward, a conservation easement protects the 23 acre farmstead, and the commons are protected.  Whether this pathway or the original one for farmer stewards to sell their buildings, AOA is committed to facilitating the transition to the next generation of farmer stewards.  

Can you make a gift today to our Farms Forever Fund? We aim to raise $20,000 for certified third-party appraisals, legal documents, title searches, surveys, legal counsel, broker fees, and grounds care during the transition of farmer stewards.

Why can’t AOA pay from its reserves? Simply, AOA holds no reserves. Our aim was to keep costs at a minimum over the long-term for farmers and educators who lease the commons, so we run as an all volunteer body (no staff costs) and incur only the most basic of operating costs – state fees, property taxes, fiscal sponsorship, and insurance. Thus, we appeal for your help!

To make a gift, click here. All gifts are tax-deductible through Agrarian Trust, a national 501(c)(3) land trust and fiscal sponsor for AOA community land trust. 

On behalf of the trustees and the land commons, I share deep gratitude.    

Thomas Spaulding, volunteer president