‘Farm in the Middle’ is the USDA term for a family farm of between 25 and 1,000 acres, something that has been disappearing from the American agricultural landscape in recent times, writes Samantha Melamed for Philly.com.

Chester County’s 520-acre Lundale farm has come up with an innovative solution to bring it back. Once a dairy farm, the property is now leased to nine small farmers as part of a vision for farmland conservation and sustainable agriculture.

“Underlying this is the concept of reinventing the family farm for the 21st century,” said Marilyn Anthony, Lundale’s executive director. “On a family farm back in the day, there would be livestock, fruit, and vegetables: a full diet. Now, farms have gotten way bigger.“

Lundale family farm used to belong to Samuel and Eleanor Morris who purchased it in 1946. When Eleanor died in 2011, her will specified that her land continue to be farmed organically and biodynamically.

Her children, both non-farmers, needed to think outside the box. There weren’t many large farming operations beating down their door to meet Eleanor’s conditions. Plus, the children wanted to maintain the unique buildings and character of the farm.

So their idea was to give family farmers access to both affordable land and housing. To achieve this, they divided the farm into parcels suitable for different crops and offered them for lease. The four historic farmhouses on the property would serve as accommodations.

Emma Cunniff, owner of Kneehigh Farm, who leases a parcel, said it gives her a unique opportunity as “this land would be way too expensive for us to rent normally.”

Read more about this innovative project at Lundale Farm at Philly.com here.