No Farms, No Food! Slow or Otherwise

Nov. 3, 2008
By Constance Washburn, Education Director at Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT)

Every single minute of every day, America loses two acres of the farmland that sustains us. This adds up to over 6 million acres a year – an area the size of Maryland. We are losing our most fertile and productive land the fastest. The farms closest to our cities produce the majority of our fresh food — 63 percent of our dairy products and 86 percent of fruits and vegetables. Saving these farms and saving our connections to the land are essential for a healthy future for our children and ourselves. Changemakers working to create a sustainable food system that is “good, clean, and fair” need to thoroughly understand the national crisis of farmland loss and how that affects California – as well as have access to and understanding of the tools available to save the farms in their communities.

A panel of experts on farmland preservation came together at ROC’s Changemakers Day on August 29 for a conversation about the different ways communities can work together to save farmland and rangeland. They also discussed the need to save the land-based farming and ranching businesses as well as the need to reconnect our communities to the land and the sources of our food. While there are some success stories, we need to act fast before 6 million more acres of fertile soil are paved over and lost.

Photo © 2008 Mike Kahn/Green Stock Media. All rights reserved.

As the panel moderator, I introduced Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT), the first agricultural land trust in the country, and offered Marin County as an example of how communities can successfully work together effectively to preserve their agricultural lands. Marin County, just over the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, still has 50% of its land in active agriculture. One third of its private farmland has been permanently preserved by MALT through the use of conservation easements – 41,000 acres on 63 family farms. Through many outreach and education efforts, the Marin public is learning to value local food and farms and increasing its support for local food, farmers and agricultural support organizations.

Ralph Grossi, the former President of the American Farmland Trust (AFT), talked about the variety of farmland protection programs and activities across the county. AFT is working on the national level to protect the nation's best farm and ranch land and improve the economic viability of agriculture. During the past 28 years, AFT helped to stimulate the creation of 27 state-level farmland protection programs, as well as countless local ordinances and programs that help support family farms.
Some of these farmland protection tools include:
•   Land Use Policies and Programs: Purchase of development rights, transfer of development rights, agricultural districts, zoning, cluster zoning, right-to-farm and tax relief.
•   Economic Development Tools: Agritourism, direct marketing, branding of local agricultural products, value-added processing and product diversification.
•   Farming and Ranching Techniques: Integrated pest management, organic techniques, nutrient management and grass-based farming.

Ralph also talked about the national Farm Bill which has an enormous impact on our lives every day, from the cost and availability of our food, to the tools available to our community to protect farm and ranch land. To be effective leaders in the movement for a sustainable food system we must understand the federal, state and local bills, bonds, tax measures, and zoning laws that affect our local farms and the food they produce.

Nita Vail, Executive Director, California Rangeland Trust (CRT), whose mission is to conserve the open space, natural habitat and stewardship provided by California’s ranches, was also a panelist. CRT is governed entirely by ranchers – men and women who understand the importance and challenges of maintaining working landscapes. Ranching families own or manage more than 22 million acres of privately-owned rangeland in California. Combined with over 19 million acres of publicly-owned grazing land in the state, this ranchland provides the economic foundation for many rural communities. Rangelands are economic, ecological and cultural resources that California cannot afford to lose. The California Rangeland Trust has ranchers, with 400,000 acres of private rangelands, waiting for funds so their land can be permanently protected.

Nita talked about the ranching families as stewards of the land who are adopting innovative management practices that blend old ways with new, to protect and enhance the environment. They need the support of their communities and governments to maintain the land not only as a foodsheds but also as healthy wildlife habitats, watersheds, and viewsheds. Saving rangeland also saves the lifestyle, rural culture and foodways that are part of an intact food system.

Jeremy Madsen, Executive Director of the Greenbelt Alliance, talked about his organization's dual focus of grassroots activism and policy research. Greenbelt Alliance has published reports on Bay Area farming and urban planning issues. Their newest report, Smart Infill, is a practical guide to help elected leaders and local residents invest in their communities to create inviting neighborhoods where people can afford to live. Greenbelt Alliance has worked with local communities and partner groups to help secure long-term protection for more than 1.1 million acres of open space, establish urban growth boundaries around 25 cities and five counties, and endorsed the creation of 60,000 new homes within existing urban areas.

Jeremy, who helped launch the Great Communities Collaborative of the Bay Area, stressed the importance of collaborating with partner organizations and the full diversity of your community to preserve farmland and create urban gardens and open spaces. He clearly pointed out that the success of both the local food movement and farmland protection programs will depend on the support of ‘minority’ populations who are in fact now the ‘majority” in California. Having sources of local healthy food will depend on whole communities coming together to use a variety of tools, from zoning to education, to protect our farms and food.

Andrea MacKenzie, General Manager, Sonoma Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District (SAPOSD) spoke about her county’s efforts to preserve farmland and educate the public about local food and farms. SAPOSD was one of the first publicly-funded programs for agricultural and open space preservation using sales tax and conservation easements. The voters chose to form the District to acquire and preserve agricultural and open space lands as a legacy for future generations. Voters approved a ¼ cent sales tax in 1990 and again in 2006 which will give the county $20 Million per year for purchase of conservation easements and land through 2031. Since 1990 SAPOSD has protected 75,000 acres.

Andrea stressed the need to connect communities and the land. SAPOSD’s Small Farm Initiative maintains agriculture on greenbelts near cities and leases ag land to farmers who grow vegetables, flowers, herbs, and berries. And the newly acquired urban Bayer Farm provides access for school children and urban community members who are being cultivated as tomorrow’s leaders in the conservation and healthy food movements.

Protecting farms and agricultural lands can provide multiple benefits to a community: local healthy food, clean air, clean water, bio-diversity, open space, public health, climate benefits, sense of community, scenic values, social justice, recreational opportunities, property values and strong local economy. The power to change and improve out food system and our personal, community, and environmental health will grow as local food movements join hands with farmland preservation efforts nationwide.

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