5 Challenges for Agricultural Land Preservation

1. Profitability
   
2. Safe and environmentally sound management
3. passing the ranch down
   
4. resisting to sell the land for development
5. protect land from conflicting uses and conversion to famr devleopment

Impermanence syndrome: Farmers stop caring for their land because they think it is going to be bought by a developer. This is an indicator of an unstable agricultural land market.

Federal Planning for Farmland
No federal policy on the preservation of farmland
Farmland Protection Policy Act 1981

• federal agencies should avoid projects that would convert prime farmland
  
• does not give private citizens any authority to oppose federal projects
• federal gov can convert land with impunity

Farmland Proection Program (1996)

• $ for states for conservation easements

Farm Bill 2002

• 985 million over 10 years
• state and local government apply to the National Resource Conservation Service (NRCS)

Federal Soil Management Programs
1985 Farm Bill (HUGE SUCCESS)
3 path breaking provisions for soil conservation

• Required owners of 120 acres of highly erodable lands to draft plans for conseration
• Sodbuster clause: if you plow highly erodable soils you will not recieve your federal subsidies
• Conservation Reserve Program: pays farmers not to work on that soil for 10-15 years
• managed by the Farm Service Agency of the FDA

Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program

• pays farmers to plant in former cropland and restore wetlands.

Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
1996 Farm bill
Financial, technical, and educational help for land owners to install filter strips, tree buffers, and management plans to address soil erosion and water quality problems

Water Management (Fed)
Wetlands Reserve Program (1990 Farm Bill)
3 Volunteer Strategies
1. Cost-sharing Agreements, gov pays 75 % to restor wetlands
2. Purchase of 30 year term easements @ 75% of easement cost
3. Purchase of easements in prerpetuity with federal gov paying 100% of wetlands restoration

Federal Rangeland Management
Bureau Land Management--> manages the range land under multiple use, sustainable yeild
criticized for favoring livestock subsidizing these industries

State Farmalnd Programs

• Plannig tools awarded to state
• Purchase development rights
• Transfer of development rights
• preferred property taxing
• right to farm lands
  

cosumnes