1.4 million acres.
Acres that are no longer farmland and that are not coming back.
In 2002, Kentucky had 86,541 farms. By 2022, that had dropped to just 69,425 farms.
In 20 years, we lost 17,000 farms and 1.4 million acres of farmland.
The Kentucky Farm Bureau launched the Kentucky Farmland in Transition Initiative in April 2024 to provide resources to farmers and landowners seeking to keep more Kentucky farmland in the hands of active farmers.
This initiative will highlight helpful resources and activities, pull together individuals and organizations who care about this issue and want to find ways to help, and develop policy options to consider.
We have to work together if we are going to keep Kentucky farmland in active production. The KFTI Network of organizations is united in recognizing the problem of farmland loss in the Commonwealth and is seeking ways to keep that farmland in agricultural production.
Members of the KFTI Network
The Initiative is also compiling lists of individuals, organizations, and businesses who work with farmers on transition planning and will be updating this site with that information and other resources. If you work with farmers doing transition planning, let us know more about your work.
We want to hear from you. Whether you are a farmer navigating a farm transition, a young farmer starting out, an attorney or CPA working with farmers, or you just care about Kentucky farmers losing access to farmland, the Kentucky Farmland Transition Initiative wants to hear your story and understand the issues you face. Click on Get Involved and let’s figure out the solution together.