Is farmland protection positive to our future?

Sustaining Agriculture in Urbanizing Counties (extremely large .pdf), released on December 16, 2008, sought to identify conditions under which farming may remain viable in agriculturally important areas that are subject to substantial development pressures.

The report is comprised of 15 county level case studies from 14 different states, and is arranged into chapters covering production inputs, marketing, farmland protection and outlook for the future. Some of the key findings and recommendations to emerge from the report include:

• Farmers were more likely to be positive about agriculture’s future in their county, if they regarded local government as sympathetic, or at least even-handed in resolving conflicts between farmers and non-farmers.

• State governments should enable, and local authorities should operate, effective programs for purchasing development rights to farmland, thereby, either adding to the base that agricultural zoning supports, or, achieving what zoning fails to realize.

• Local governments should apply zoning policies (e.g., large minimum-lot requirements, cluster zoning, urban growth boundaries) that help to preserve an adequate land base for farming.

• There are often insurmountable obstacles to young or beginning farmers purchasing and renting land, especially if they are not related to the current farm owners .* Public and private agencies should encourage farm families to plan carefully for the transfer of ownership and management to their children or other relatives.*

• Public and private agencies should encourage the launching and sustainability of farm enterprises likely to be profitable on the urban edge and on small acreages- such as high value specialty crops or livestock.

Click here to view the American Farmland Trust report.