Let's Save Our Farms!

Californian farmers Annie and Jeff Main, 58- and 60-years old respectively, have a legitimate dream. They want their 20-acre organic farm to keep producing wholesome produce for their loyal customers past their retirement.

Here is the trick: their farm is more likely to fall into the hands of real-estate developers than to be bought by young farmers. In California, the farmland grab phenomenon turns 50,000 acres of fields and orchards into roads and construction projects every year. Throughout America, the total farmland lost amounts to 1 million acres every year. With every acre taken away, the local foodshed takes a hit.

The good news is, Annie and Jeff have found a potential solution: an easement similar to the deals operated by land trusts to create natural parks. All it will require is raising $400,000.

Here is how it would work in this case: a land trust buys the development value of the property, assessed at 70 percent of its total market value–$400,000 at today’s market rate for Good Humus Produce. In doing so, it creates a “conservation easement” that preserves the land in perpetuity. The easement on the farm will limit the market value of the property to its agricultural value, more easily within reach of young farmers’ pockets, and will make it illegal for any development to occur on its 20 acres.

“We want the farm to be and remain affordable for the next generations so that it can be farmed for as long as possible,” Annie Main told me.

Land trusts are beginning to recognize the problems caused by the disappearance of family farms. The relatively small size of this type of property, however, makes it too expensive for these organizations, who are used to dealing with hundreds of acres at a time, to invest in the legal and fund-raising work.

This is where food co-ops come in.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Eternal G.

3:46PM PST on Jan 9, 2011

Yes, indeed!

send a green star

Amanda K.

1:59PM PST on Dec 21, 2010

thanks!

Past Member .

10:51PM PST on Dec 17, 2010

good job...for that past forty years, growing up in iowa, i watched the family farms disappear. it used to be handed down from generation to generation and the sons always worked the farms as adults...now...many are corporations...it is so sad....but farmers could not make a living...they were not the ones getting rich from the farms....

Olivia S.

6:46PM PST on Dec 17, 2010

This is great news...hope this is just the beginning.

Anna G.

11:11AM PST on Dec 17, 2010

Susan S.

9:52PM PST on Dec 16, 2010

Farm coops and creative solutions to agri-business that relies on factory farming and massive pesticide use are much needed. Thanks for the hopeful article.

Camilla V.

11:49AM PST on Dec 16, 2010

i am all for it, if farms stop using animals, stop factory farms.

Kristi C.

10:16AM PST on Dec 16, 2010

Laetisha, I love the way you think! Please keep promoting this all-to-important cause!

Thanks!

Kristi Cooke, NTP

Robin T.

10:14AM PST on Dec 16, 2010

Great idea to keep farms out of the reach of developers.
We desperately need productive organic farms and farmers.
Seems not many young people are interested in farming. Hard work with relatively small financial rewards.

Make a difference, plant a tree.

Loo S.

9:38PM PST on Dec 15, 2010

thanks for the article.