Skip to main content Skip to footer unit links
← Back to all capstone projects
2016 Spring | Agriculture and Food Systems, Arts & Humanities, Education & Outreach, Environmental Justice

Growing Connections, Changing Hands: Increasing Accessibility to Agriculture for Young Farmers in the Pacific Northwest

Student(s):

Katherine Doughty

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Lauren Marquardt, Pacific Northwest Program and Outreach Coordinator

Partner(s):

  • American Farmland Trust

Faculty advisor(s):

Stevan Harrell Professor of Anthropology at University of Washington

Through explorations of existing farmland succession planning programs, I identified what resources are missing and where there is opportunity for AFT involvement. I specifi- cally focused on what resources are needed by different groups who are traditionally marginalized, to see what actions are necessary to dismantle systemized barriers to being a farmer. My individual research was then focused on how the agricultural community can increase accessibility to agriculture for young farmers, with an emphasis on encouraging growth in the community through empowering individuals or groups, acknowledging cultural difference in values and knowledge, and increasing connections between retiring and aspiring farmers.