American Farmland Trust
Encyclopedia
The American Farmland Trust (AFT) is an organization founded to preserve farmland and ranchland in the United States
and to promote sustainable
agricultural practices.
AFT is staffed by farmers, policy experts, researchers and scientists, and governed by a board of directors. Headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
, with satellite offices in California
, Connecticut
, Massachusetts
, New York and Washington state
. AFT also runs the Farmland Information Center in Northampton, Massachusetts
and the Center for Agriculture in the Environment in Dekalb, Illinois
.
Since AFT’s founding in 1980 by a group of farmers and citizens concerned about the rapid loss of farmland to development, the organization has helped save millions of acres of farmland from development and led the way for establishing sound environmental practices on millions more.
AFT also works at a federal level to preserve farmland through programs like the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FPPA)—which provides matching funds to states, communities and organizations for protecting their farm and ranch land—and other policies that provide incentives to landowners who steward and conserve their land.
As an incentive for farmers and ranchers to adopt certain practices, AFT initiated the Best Management Practices (BMP) Challenge in 1998. The BMP Challenge for Nutrient Management and BMP Challenge for Reduced Tillage pay farmers cash if yield and income are reduced while participating in the BMP Challenge. Unique performance guarantees allow farmers to try conservation practices on their own land, observe performance over time in side-by-side comparisons, and evaluate economic impact, without risk to income due to yield loss.
Key components of AFT’s Growing Local campaign include:
The contest runs throughout the summer months and culminates during National Farmers Market week in August. The America's Favorite Farmers Market website provides a portal for market customers to vote, with access through a traditional query and a searchable map. Winners are chosen in four categories based on size – boutique, small, medium and large. Those with the most votes in their respective category receive a supply of No Farms No Food tote bags as well as free services to support their local outreach efforts.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and to promote sustainable
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
agricultural practices.
AFT is staffed by farmers, policy experts, researchers and scientists, and governed by a board of directors. Headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, with satellite offices in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, New York and Washington state
Washington State
Washington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...
. AFT also runs the Farmland Information Center in Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
and the Center for Agriculture in the Environment in Dekalb, Illinois
DeKalb, Illinois
DeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 at the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War....
.
Mission
AFT’s primary mission is to help farmers and ranchers protect their land, produce a healthier environment, and build successful communities.History
Farmers and ranchers founded the AFT in 1980, partly in response to the 1979 report of the National Agricultural Lands Study, titled Where Have the Farm Lands Gone? The organization has worked to pass state laws and local ordinances intended to enable the preservation of farmland.Since AFT’s founding in 1980 by a group of farmers and citizens concerned about the rapid loss of farmland to development, the organization has helped save millions of acres of farmland from development and led the way for establishing sound environmental practices on millions more.
- 1979: The National Agricultural Lands Study releases the report Where Have the Farm Lands Gone?
- 1980: A group of farmers and conservationists concerned about farmland loss found AFT
- 1981: Passage of the federal Farmland Protection Policy Act in the 1981 Farm Bill
- 1982: Four states have authorized Purchase of Development Rights/Purchase Agricultural Conservation Easements (PDR/PACE) programs
- 1985: AFT publishes Soil Conservation in America: What Do We Have to Lose?, which leads to the creation of the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the 1985 Farm Bill
- 1987: AFT publishes the first Farming on the Edge report, which analyzes the impact of suburban sprawl on farming
- 1988: With help from AFT, Pennsylvania enacts its state PDR program, which today is the most successful of its kind in the nation
- 1991: AFT holds its first national conference on farmland protection
- 1992: AFT opens its Center for Agriculture in the Environment (CAE) in partnership with Northern Illinois University to undertake research on land use and environmental subjects
- 1994: AFT creates the Farmland Information Center (FIC)
- 1996: AFT’s efforts lead to the creation of a national farmland protection program in the 1996 Farm Bill
- 1997: The publication of Saving American Farmland: What Works, AFT’s comprehensive guidebook for farmland protection
- 1997: AFT awards the first Steward of the Land Award in honor of founder Peggy Rockefeller
- 2002: The federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program receives $600 million in funding in the 2002 Farm Bill
- 2005: Twenty-seven states and more than 50 local governments have authorized PDR/PACE programs
- 2008: The 2008 Farm Bill passes with many important improvements for conservation, renewable energy, the farm safety net, and local foods.
- 2008: Long-time AFT president Ralph Grossi retires; Jon Scholl becomes president of AFT.
- 2008: AFT begins work with partners in developing a unique water quality trading market for agriculture to improve water quality and help sequester carbon in the Sauk River watershed in Minnesota
- 2009: AFT releases the groundbreaking study, Think Globally, Eat Locally: San Francisco Foodshed Assessment and launches Growing Local, a new initiative to promote agriculture’s role in local and regional food systems.
- 2009: The report, Sustaining Agriculture in Urbanizing Counties, is released.
- 2010: American Farmland Trust celebrates its 30th anniversary.
- 2010: AFT initiates and promotes the idea of a statewide strategic plan for agriculture in the Golden State, titled California Agricultural Vision, and facilitates the process for the State Board of Food and Agriculture.
- 2010: AFT holds its first No Farms No Food® Rally in New York.
Campaigns
AFT divides its programmatic work into three separate campaigns: Farmland Protection, Agriculture and Environment and Growing Local.Farmland protection
To protect farmland from development on the local level, AFT creates public and private conservation easement programs that keep farmland forever farmland. The programs are designed to enable farmers and ranchers to resist constant pressure to sell land for development by compensating them for giving up their development rights.AFT also works at a federal level to preserve farmland through programs like the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FPPA)—which provides matching funds to states, communities and organizations for protecting their farm and ranch land—and other policies that provide incentives to landowners who steward and conserve their land.
Agriculture and Environment
AFT contends that, as the single largest user of land and water resources in America, farms and ranches can be a key part of the solution to the United States’s most critical environmental challenges, including water quality and climate change. AFT feels that by addressing unsustainable farm practices, U.S. agriculture can improve degraded waterways and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.As an incentive for farmers and ranchers to adopt certain practices, AFT initiated the Best Management Practices (BMP) Challenge in 1998. The BMP Challenge for Nutrient Management and BMP Challenge for Reduced Tillage pay farmers cash if yield and income are reduced while participating in the BMP Challenge. Unique performance guarantees allow farmers to try conservation practices on their own land, observe performance over time in side-by-side comparisons, and evaluate economic impact, without risk to income due to yield loss.
Growing Local
AFT developed their Growing Local campaign in response to the increasing demand for locally grown food in the United States, as well as to address the threat to urban edge farms who face sprawling development and difficult market conditions. The campaign’s primary goal is to support the development of healthy, urban-edge farms supported by an infrastructure that makes fresh food from local farms a reality for everyone in the United States. AFT’s growing local strategy consists of two campaigns—sustaining farms and farmers and helping communities grow local.Key components of AFT’s Growing Local campaign include:
- Building alliances between farm, food, and economic development stakeholders
- Connecting consumers to the farmers who grow their food
- Helping urban and rural communities assess opportunities and challenges
- Creating on the ground pilot projects
- Developing policies and strategies across all levels of government
Programs and Reports
AFT has a number of unique initiatives within each campaign that contribute to the organization’s overall mission.Farmland Information Center
A partnership between the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and AFT, the Farmland Information Center (FIC) is a clearinghouse of information about farmland protection and stewardship. The online collection provides an inventory of laws, literature and technical resources. Launched in 1994, this collaboration was made possible by the FPPA, which was the first federal law to address the loss of farmland to development.Farming on the Edge Report
AFT has completed reports on a variety of issues related to farmland protection in different areas of the United States, the most popular of which is a series of studies called Farming on the Edge. First compiled in 1987, this AFT report maps out the irreplaceable loss of farmland in the United States. The project continues to provide new and updated data through subsequent reports looking at farmland on the urban edge on a both a state and national scale. The research found that America loses an acre of farmland every single minute of every day and that our food is increasingly in the path of development, with 86 percent of U.S. fruits and vegetables and 63 percent of dairy products produced in urban-influenced areas. Additionally, the report highlights growth itself is not the problem but rather the wasteful use of land.America’s Favorite Farmers Market Contest
The America’s Favorite Farmers Market contest is an annual competition managed by AFT that brings national awareness to the organization's No Farms No Food message of preserving America's farmland and the food systems they sustain. The contest provides a platform for market managers to connect with customers, community leaders, and local media as well as a way for market customers to show their support for their markets and farmers.The contest runs throughout the summer months and culminates during National Farmers Market week in August. The America's Favorite Farmers Market website provides a portal for market customers to vote, with access through a traditional query and a searchable map. Winners are chosen in four categories based on size – boutique, small, medium and large. Those with the most votes in their respective category receive a supply of No Farms No Food tote bags as well as free services to support their local outreach efforts.
External links
- American Farmland Trust
- 2012 Farm Bill | American Farmland Trust
- Farmland Information Center in Northampton, MassachusettsNorthampton, MassachusettsThe city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
- Center for Agriculture in the Environment in Dekalb, IllinoisDeKalb, IllinoisDeKalb is a city in DeKalb County, Illinois, United States. The population was 43,862 at the 2010 census, up from 39,018 at the 2000 census. The city is named after decorated German war hero Johann De Kalb, who died during the American Revolutionary War....