Illinois Farmland Protection Specialist at American Farmland Trust – Champaign, Illinois

Who We Are

American Farmland Trust (AFT) takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 6.5 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally sound farming practices on millions of additional acres, and helped thousands of farm families make a go of it. Long a pioneering leader, AFT is now riding a new wave of growth driven by agriculture’s most pressing needs and opportunities.

Job Purpose
The Illinois Farmland Protection Specialist will be essential in accelerating the pace of permanent agricultural land protection in Illinois, emphasizing the Chicago metro region. This role is an exciting opportunity to work with innovative agricultural and conservation groups across the state to facilitate key programming to protect working lands, strengthen farm businesses, and support a new generation of farmers accessing land.

Position Summary
The Specialist will lead AFT’s outreach and programmatic efforts to protect agricultural land in Illinois. The Specialist will become familiar with NRCS policies and guidance related to conservation easement program implementation and will provide direction, feedback, and support to entities (such as land trusts and public PACE programs) and NRCS staff on projects.

The Farmland Protection Specialist will work within AFT while working closely and learning from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. This position provides an excellent opportunity to grow expertise in land protection and work closely with many state and national partners.

This position is termed for 18-months, funded through a cooperative agreement with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

The Specialist will be based in Illinois within a 75-mile radius of Chicago and will work closely with AFT’s Midwest Senior Farmland Program Manager and Illinois NRCS to support the promotion and administration of NRCS easement programs, specifically the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements (ACEP-ALE).

What You’ll Be Working On

• Provide support to NRCS in promoting, delivering, and implementing entity-held easement programs across the state, with a special emphasis on the greater Chicago region in Illinois.
• Support AFT and NRCS with farmland protection and agricultural conservation easement program outreach.
• Identify support needs from eligible entities, such as local land trusts and county PDR programs, and assist with capacity building to efficiently develop and complete agricultural conservation easement projects. This will include providing direct application and program assistance.
• Work with AFT’s National Agricultural Land Network (NALN) to provide content and assist with programs that support agricultural land protection professionals.
• Develop and maintain systems for tracking and coordinating land protection projects and regularly communicate the status of each task associated with a project to NRCS and the appropriate entity.
• Ensure that agricultural conservation easement projects awarded NRCS funds stay on track with the expected timeline for completion.
• Work with entities to promote conservation practice adoption on eased lands.
• Coordinate communications between NRCS, entity, and any necessary contractors working on a project if needed (such as facilitating a discussion between a land surveyor and NRCS technical reviewer to resolve an issue).

This person will also be required to complete other duties as assigned that contribute to the successful outreach, administration, and acquisition of agricultural conservation easement programs and projects.