The Collaborative works directly with land owners and potential farmer/foresters on a case-by-case basis to determine the needs of their operation. Some examples include:

• Working with new or tenant farmers to find farmland to lease or purchase;
• Finding funding to purchase agricultural easements that will keep the land "working" while at the same time compensating the landowner for the loss of development potential;
• Providing business planning assistance and financing for new and existing ventures;
• Advising and educating landowners in marketing, production and processing of their product;
• Helping to find grant funding for specific projects that will help improve the productivity or profitability of an operation;
• Mapping and tracking current farm land in east Jefferson County;
• Estate planning to ensure land can be passed to another generation.

  The benefits of operating as a Collaborative are myriad:

• We are able to share resources with one another and with LandWorks staff;, keeping overhead low;
• Regular communication ensures that efforts are efficient and not duplicated or counter productive;
• Partnering makes our organization attractive to funding sources so that together we are able to leverage more funds for our projects;
• We are able to provide a one-stop, broad range of services to our landowner "clients".