Julia Freedgood

Julia is a national expert in farmland protection, agricultural viability, and food systems who heads AFT’s efforts to support the future of farming by increasing land access and supporting next-generation farmers. She co-authored “Cultivating the Next Generation: Resources and Policies to Help Beginning Farmers Succeed in Agriculture,” and leads AFT’s efforts to train trainers and build a network of service providers to help beginners secure land and succeed in agriculture. Freedgood co-authored AFT’s “Farms Under Threat” report. She was a co-PI of a USDA-NIFA supported project “Growing Food Connections,” and published “Growing Local: A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems” to strengthen local economies and improve community food security. She is a long-time member of the American Planning Association. She served on USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Grant Review Board and the USDA-Secretary Vilsack’s Land Tenure Advisory Committee. She is also a founding member of North American Food Systems Network and serves on the Advisory Board and Editorial Committee of the Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development and the Network Committee of Food Solutions New England. She holds a Master of Arts in urban and environmental planning and policy from Tufts University. 

Julia is a prominent national expert in farmland protection, land tenure and access, agricultural viability, and food system planning. As Senior Fellow and Senior Program Advisor at American Farmland Trust, she focuses on the planning and policy framework required to support the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers, and to advance equitable and just regional food systems to increase food security and combat climate change. Currently writing a book on this subject, she also is involved in other research, extension, and community engagement projects at AFT.

Julia is the author or co-author of many articles and reports, recent ones include “Cultivating the Next Generation: Resources and Policies to Help Beginning Farmers Succeed in Agriculture,” “Farms Under Threat: The State of the States,” “Fail to Include, Plan to Exclude: Reflections on Local Governments' Readiness for Building Equitable Community Food Systems,” and “Growing Local: A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems.”

She has many professional affiliations. Among them, she is a long-time member of the American Planning Association, a founding member of North American Food Systems Network, and serves on the Advisory Board and Editorial Committee of the Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development. She has served on USDA’s Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program Grant Review Board and USDA-Secretary Vilsack’s Land Tenure Advisory Committee. She holds a M.A. in Urban and Environmental Planning and Policy from Tufts University.