Farmland preservation
Farmland preservation is a joint effort by non-governmental organizations and local governments to set aside and protect examples of a region's farmland for the use, education, and enjoyment of future generations.
Programs in the United States are operated mostly at state and local levels by government agencies or private entities such as land trusts and are designed to limit conversion of agricultural land to other uses that otherwise might have been more financially attractive to the land owner. Through different government programs and policy enactments farmers are able to preserve their land for growing crops and raising livestock. Every state provides tax relief through differential assessment. Easements are a popular approach and allow the farms to remain operational. Less common approaches include establishing agricultural districts, using zoning to protect agricultural land, purchasing development rights, and transferable development rights. It is often a part of regional planning and national historic preservation. Farmland preservation efforts have been taking place across the United States, such as in Virginia, Minnesota, Maryland, Florida, and Connecticut.
History
passed the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964 to mitigate the loss of farmland to rapid suburban development through the use of favorable tax assessments. The act dealt with how the land is assessed for taxes based on the productivity level of the land. The thinking behind this act was that by helping cut the taxes on the farmland, local farmers would be more likely to stay in business. By the late 1970s the value of farmland had outstripped the tax benefits of the act, so the state purchased deed restrictions on farms through the Agriculture Retention and Development Act of 1981. The 1981 law authorized the state to purchase easements on farm land to prevent the construction and rezoning of these areas for industrial, commercial, residential, or other land uses. As of 2022 the law has helped save some 2,800 farms, amassing. Regional efforts in Monmouth County include the Navesink Highlands Greenway, a project of the Monmouth County Farmland Preservation Program, which, along with the Monmouth Conservation Foundation, purchased the development rights of the Holly Crest Farm in Middletown in September 2008 for US$2.5 million. Over 20 percent of county farmlands and open spaces are permanently preserved. This area is delineated as a land-trust which means that the land itself is publicly owned, so when purchasing a home, the purchaser is buying the building itself and also entering a long-term lease with the land-owning entity. The land trust covers some 665 acres and covers a variety of rural to urban communities. Managed by an executive board and a board of trustees, the trust makes decisions regarding land-use following principles of conservation and sustainability.The American Farmland Trust was established in 1980 to preserve farmland and promote sustainable farming practices. Since its inception, the AFT has grown to be one of the largest farmland conservation groups in the nation boasting 7.1 million acres protected and $117 billion accrued through their efforts. Their goal in doing all of this is that they will be able to keep farmers on the land by supporting them economically so the farmers can also adopt more conservation minded farming practices. By adopting conservation minded practices, they believe in the long-term success of the farms promoting a healthy ecosystem and water table that also produces adequate amounts of crops for the growing world population.
The Genesee Valley Conservancy, a public land trust, was founded in western New York in 1990. The trust includes some along the Genesee River watershed. The scope of the project is to protect habitats, open spaces, and farmland. In order to protect the land in the valley, they hope to add a nature preserve and expand upon existing ones. In order to increase their visibility and community understanding within the region they plan on providing educational and recreational opportunities. In order to increase and diversify funding they plan on outlining specific plans for funding of projects in hope that having defined goals will help bring on new support.
Farmland management
is one approach used to manage protected farms. There are different government programs that invest in conservation easement of farmlands, including the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The goal of the program is to maintain current farms to preserve existing land for only agriculture uses. The program protects grazing interests of livestock and the health of the land for the growing of agriculture. Participants such as non-profit organizations, local governments and Indian tribes can obtain funds to purchase agricultural land easements.A transferable development rights TDR program offers landowners financial incentives or bonuses for the conservation and maintenance of agricultural land. TDR programs have been established in over 200 U.S. communities in several states. Land developers can purchase the development rights of certain properties within a designated "sending district" and transfer the rights to another "receiving district" to increase the density of their new development. It provides more land for growing crops because it zones off plots of land to be growth zones. This allows for farmlands to not be sold for development and be preserved for agricultural.
In addition, to different government programs there has also been several bills passed to preserve farmland. The U.S. Farmland Protection Policy Act established a national policy to ensure that federally-funded programs do not develop land designated for agricultural purposes. The FPPA protects farmland from federal funded construction and other government projects that require the acquisition of property.
There are many programs for farmland management, there are also government programs to help the land that the crops grow on. In the federal Conservation Reserve Program. the Farm Service Agency trades a year rental payment to remove certain parts of the land in order for the soil to improve. This program helps farmers take care of their land by getting support to help improve water and soil quality. It manages the health of the farmland.