Farm Protection & Affordability Investment (FarmPAI)
This revolving loan program protects important farmland at risk of development, while lowering barriers for beginning or historically underserved farmers and ranchers.
This program serves: Land-trust entities who are nationally accredited or a member of the Washington Association of Land Trusts. Apply for funding here.
Are you a farmer? See our Beginning Farmer/Rancher Program or contact your local land trust.
Community members: Join the FarmPAI Advisory Board!
Learn more about FarmPAI:
Read the press release
See these slides explaining the program.
Why FarmPAI?
As land values rise, Washington is losing thousands of acres of farmland each year. We are also losing farmers: our state has five times as many farmers over 65 as under 35 years old. Young and beginning farmers lack access to affordable land, particularly those who are Black, indigenous or people of color. But when you farm your own land, it’s not just about making a living today. It’s about building a business over time and building wealth for future generations.
How It Works
Through Farm PAI, a qualified land trust gets a loan to purchase farmland quickly when it comes on the market. The FarmPAI Advisory Committee reviews all FarmPAI applications and approves allocations depending on application qualifications.
Then the land trust holds the land, preserving it from development, until it can be sold to a farmer. Meanwhile, the land trust can apply to the state Farmland Preservation Land Acquisition (FPLA) program to secure a conservation easement for the property – permanently protecting it from development and making it more affordable to farmers. Then the land is sold to a farmer or rancher.
Apply for Funding (Land Trusts)
Contact Dan Schilling at dan.schilling@wshfc.org.
Application and funding criteria.
Are you a farmer? See our Beginning Farmer/Rancher Program or contact your local land trust.