American Farmland Trust and its partners have developed a new model to reduce nutrient and soil sediment runoff on leased farmland in the Great Lakes region. By engaging landowners, their operators and farm retailers, the partnership is expanding the use of conservation practices to improve soil health and reduce runoff in the Great Lakes Basin. The “Landowners and Farmers Partnering for Clean Water in the Great Lakes” model is built around three strategies, engaging women landowners through “learning circles,” organizing workshops for farm operators who lease their land, and gathering knowledge from agricultural retailers and crop consultants. The group says farmers who lease the land they farm do not have as many incentives to use conservation practices as do farmers who own the land they farm. In the Great Lakes region, up to 49 percent of the farmland is leased. A significant share of leased farmland is owned by women, a traditionally underserved sector in agriculture, and a sector that is expected to increase. The toolkits are available on American Farmland Trust’s website.