Farmland Preservation
Working with Farm Fund Eyes Austin
A handful of established farmers in the Austin area have found deep satisfaction in training and mentoring the next generation of sustainable farmers. Too often their best and brightest leave this area, however, because they can no longer afford to buy land or housing here.
This rise in farmless farmers coincides with the average age of the American farmer approaching 60 while rural communities face increased inequities in health and wellbeing. Addressing this crisis is the focus of the Conservation Trust’s newest program, the Working Farm Fund, to preserve farmland in fast-growing cities around the country.
Through brokering development rights and offering short-term loans, the fund has helped more than a dozen farmers in Atlanta reach that critical goal of owning their own farm. It has begun purchasing land around Chicago, as well, and recently visited Austin to evaluate if it would be a good fit for the program.
Since founded in 1985, the Conservation Trust has preserved more than 9 million acres around the country, much of it forests and parkland. Its new emphasis on farmland comes at a time when demand for local food continues to climb while food security threatens more communities.
You can learn more here about its success in Atlanta and stay tuned for news about its follow up visits to Austin as the Fund continues to evaluate its next possible location.
Innovation in farmland preservation is key to balancing the demands of growth in the built environment and the need to protect natural resources with less fragmentation. Here are some examples from around the country:
Davis, CA has established laws that require developers to set aside a matching acre of farmland for every acre taken for other uses. Developers can place an agricultural conservation easement on farmland in another part of the city or pay a fee in lieu of direct protection.
Farmers in the counties surrounding Portland, Oregon have been able to successfully preserve farmland and open spaces through rural reserve agreements. With the creation of urban development boundaries and agricultural land protection considerations, rural reserve policies have preserved thousands of acres of farmland and open spaces.
California’s SB 375 has effectively preserved farmland by requiring the development of sustainable community strategies that seek to minimize the negative climate impact that is associated with urban sprawl. Additionally, California’s Williamson Act has been able to prevent the detrimental effects of urban sprawl while preserving farmland by designating certain tracts of land as agricultural enterprise areas and providing considerable tax breaks.
The Conservation Fund is launching the Working Farms Fund in Georgia! This innovative program permanently protects threatened farmland, provides land access and business support to next generation farmers, and grows a more resilient and diverse local food system.
Resources
The Colorado River Alliance is dedicated to keeping the river clean and healthy. It organizes the largest river clean-up in the state
The Colorado River Conservancy focuses on protecting people and land along the river in Travis County.
Environmental Stewardship in a Bastrop-based watershed protection non-profit working to protect our groundwater and aquifers for more than 20 years.
Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM) is a coalition of conservation organizations fighting for smarter growth in Central Texas regarding mining.
