dept of ag farmlink programs

[ctjim]

not sure this is the correct forum for this but, has anyone used their states dept. of ag farmlink program to find a sugarbush or woodlot for trees to tap? i am in the process of putting in an ad in my states farmlink looking for a sugarbush or woodlot. i have trees on my familys farm but almost all are reds and i'm tapping them now but i would like something a bit more productive. also wondering what are some lease agreements that you may have set up, i have a couple of samples that i got however they seem to be geared towards crop farmers. i think that sugaring would be a bit different. any thoughts or helpful experiences would be great, thanks jim

[brookledge]

In Mass. it is not great dealing with the state agencies. The problem is that there are different agencies governing different types of state land. So some state land can be tapped while other can not. They usually require the lines to be all removed each spring and not put back up until winter. That alone is a pain in the ____. Also usually require bids to be done with other producers. Then it can't be a long term contract so after you spend money to make the set up you may find that someone else can bid higher than you.
I know other states are different so start with your state dept. of ag and go from there
Keith

[ctjim]

brookledge, this type of program is sort of a classified ad per say. they have a list of people that have lands available for farming and a list of people looking for land to farm. its very similar to this.
http://www.smallfarm.org/main/for_new_farmers/new_england_landlink/

[brookledge]

So the land is privately owned. I thoght you were talking about state land
Keith