American Farmland Trust Seeks Georgia Farmland Protection Associate
Position Overview:
The Georgia Farmland Protection Associate is responsible for facilitating NRCS conservation easement projects from application to closing. The Associate will also play a role in supporting AFT’s Georgia outreach and programmatic efforts. The Associate will have onboarding with both NRCS and AFT to become familiar with NRCS policies and guidance related conservation easement program implementation and will provide guidance, feedback, and support to entities (such as land trusts) and NRCS staff on projects.
The Georgia Farmland Protection Associate will work within AFT’s Southeast Regional Program and will have a unique opportunity to participate and learn from AFT ‘s national programs while working closely and learning from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This position provides an excellent opportunity to grow expertise in land protection, and work closely with a host of state and national partners.
The Georgia Farmland Protection Associate will play an important role in accelerating the pace of permanent agricultural land protection in Georgia. This role is an exciting opportunity to work with innovative agricultural and conservation groups across the state to facilitate key programming to protect working lands, strengthen farm businesses, and support a new generation of farmers in accessing land. AFT’s Farms Under Threat 2040: Choosing an Abundant Future report identifies that Georgia has some of the most threatened farmland in America, ranking 4th in projected acres to be converted by 2040. This is a pivotal time for agricultural land protection in the state as program funding increases and there is more opportunity to protect critical working lands statewide. The position is initially funded through a cooperative agreement with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and will work closely with AFT’s Georgia Program Manager and Georgia NRCS Easement Program staff to support the promotion and administration of Georgia NRCS easement programs such as Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE).