News from American Farmland Trust

A Farm and Food Education

At Pine Tree Elementary in Avon, Indiana, students are learning more than reading, writing and arithmetic. The school’s Agri-Lesson Director, Angie Williams, is helping to connect students more directly with farms and food through a monthly “Ag Day” and accompanying lessons on the important role that agriculture plays in the state.

Value-Added Grant Awardees Announced

On February 3, USDA announced the most recent recipients of its Value-Added Producer Grants. The total award amount of $40.2 million is the largest allotment for value-added producers in recent history.

Senate Agriculture Committee Announces Farm Bill Hearings

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, has announced the committee’s farm bill hearing schedule for February and March.

CSA Brings Farm-To-College Connection

Tufts University has partnered with Enterprise Farms of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, to pilot an on-campus Community Supported Agriculture program. Though students have joined local CSAs in the past, this is the first time the university has had a program specifically designed to reach students, faculty and staff.

Rally Around Farms and Food in New York

There is still time to register for New York’s No Farms No Food® Rally on February 15 at the State Capitol in Albany. Help us urge state leaders to strengthen the farm and food economy, protect farmland and the environment and increase access to nutritious food grown in New York.

Predictions for upcoming seasons are laid out each year in the pages of The Old Farmer’s Almanac — charting the sun, moon, tides and past weather records to forecast the year ahead. With that in mind, we’ve done some calculations of our own and gauged the temperature of discussions surrounding farm and food policy for the 2012 Farm Bill.

Should the stars align, here are our predictions for topics to anticipate during the farm bill reauthorization process this spring.

Deficits and Cuts

The national deficit continues to loom overhead and the debate over the 2012 Farm Bill will be dominated like few others this century by deficit pressure. Every section of the legislation will be affected, but by how much we do not know. However, we do know that the deal to increase the debt ceiling means the farm bill will be cut by about $15 to $16 billion as a result of automatic sequestration. These cuts will most likely be the starting point—and not the end point—for final numbers.

Safeguarding the Environment

For conservation, 2012 will be a year when climate and environmental issues establish new trends and challenges. Dramatic weather events in 2011 created highs and lows in American agriculture, and coming years will be no exception. The discussion will focus on how to make conservation programs more efficient while equipping farmers with conservation tools and programs to meet environmental challenges and regulatory burdens.

With conservation programs having already contributed more than $2 billion to the nation’s deficit reduction through appropriations cuts, we think the farm bill debate this spring should center on promoting conservation funding without the threat of additional cuts. Conservation programs are too valuable to lose now—and for our future.

The Future of Farm Support Programs

Caught up in the budget belt-tightening are proposals to alter farm support, or subsidy, programs. For the first time in two decades, it is likely that direct payments will be eliminated. What will replace them is unclear, but the debate is currently focused on the appropriate role of government in helping farmers address risk.

We believe that  new safety net programs must protect farms from risks they can’t control, while also minimizing the programs’ influence on the economic and environmental behavior of farmers. The debate will be vigorous but we believe it will be critical to creating a farm support system that works effectively for both farmers and consumers.

Who Will be Farming and Stewarding the Land?

Now more than any time since the end of World War II, it’s important for the nation to have a serious discussion about the generational and gender shifts happening in American agriculture.

According to the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture, there are more than five times as many farmers at age 65 and older as there are 35 and younger. As the overall farm population ages, the influence of female landowners is predicted to rise.— 70 percent of farmland is expected to change hands in the next 20 years, with women potentially ending up  owning most of it. While we face the critical question of how land will be transitioned, at the same time we see the rise of young adults looking to start careers in agriculture but facing challenges securing land and succeeding in farming.

It will be difficult for farm policy leaders to ignore the changing demographics in agriculture. We think changes in land ownership, land stewardship and the engagement of young and beginning farmers in agriculture should be part of the discussion as Congress addresses programs for farmland protection, farm viability, and conservation.

Strengthening America’s Farm and Food System

Lawmakers will need to look systematically at what rural development policy is supposed to do to help today’s rural America.

The 2012 Farm Bill can be a catalyst to help rural America by finding ways to stimulate new market opportunities for agriculture and further support for local and regional food systems. Consumer demand for local food continues to rise, and farm policy can play a critical role in helping farmers provide it.

A Healthier Nation

Public health and nutrition, and the intersection with agriculture, is currently at the forefront of national interest. Amid on-going conversations about public health and chronic diseases is a focus on the availability of fresh, healthy food.

The connection between healthier diets and agricultural production is very real and easy to see. The demand for healthy food opens markets for agricultural products and potentially  helps keep farmers farming. Less clear, but no less important, is the role that public health demands may play in   local and regional food systems. The next farm bill presents the opportunity to explore public health while also creating market opportunities for farmers. We think 2012 will be the beginning of a long term trend of a new public health constituent group in the farm bill.

The forecast for the 2012 Farm Bill will take the direction of real forces shaping farm and food policy. As discussions around the 2012 Farm Bill get underway in Washington, we’ll be asking supporters of America’s farms and food to learn more, speak up and be heard.

Did you know that Connecticut was coined the “Provision State” by George Washington for the important role the state’s productive farms played in feeding the troops for the American Revolution?

Agriculture is growing and changing in Connecticut again, with a need to reclaim pastures and cropland while rebuilding agricultural infrastructure. To help meet this need and boost the job creating activities associated with agriculture, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture will soon launch a new Farmland Restoration Program. Department of Agriculture Commissioner Steven Reviczky credits Governor Malloy for promoting the restoration provision, noting in his travels the number of overgrown fields were there were once productive farms.

In many parts of the state, there is great competition for the best farmland and little opportunity for beginning farmers to access land. The new program will help farmers and landowners restore private, state, municipal and land trust lands back into agricultural production. Up to $20,000 per project will be available (with a match required) to implement a number of different restoration and conservation practices. The restoration plan will be developed in consultation with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and Connecticut Conservation District Specialists, with federal funds being leveraged for some of the conservation practices. Potential activities funded by the new program include the removal of invasive plants and brush, installation of fencing for reclamation areas to protect crops and wetlands, the renovation of farm ponds and the planting of streamside buffers.

The Farmland Restoration Program is expected to increase the acreage of farmland available to help new and existing farmers grow their businesses, thus creating jobs and providing fresh local products to meet growing consumer demands so the state can once again reclaim its name as “The Provision State.”

Details about the program and application materials are available at the Connecticut Department of Agriculture’s website, www.CTGrown.gov (click on “Programs and Services”), or by calling 860-713-2511.

From the Battlefield to the Farm Field

Around the country, an increasing number of opportunities are helping military veterans transition to civilian life through farm programs and apprenticeships. In San Diego, a retired Marine has trained about 60 people returning from Iraq and Afghanistan through the Veteran Sustainable Agriculture Training program. And 2012 TEDx Manhattan Challenge winner Howard Hinterthuer is running a similar initiative in Milwaukee to help veterans transition into food production.

Take Action to Protect North Carolina Conservation Funding

Due to an accelerated legislative timetable, Land for Tomorrow is urging North Carolina residents to contact members of the state’s General Assembly now to ask them to protect conservation funding.

Young Farmers to Gather in Michigan

From March 9 to 11, the Michigan Young Farmer Coalition is hosting a retreat for young farmers from across the state to gather and help strengthen the future of Michigan agriculture.

A Super Bowl at the Super Bowl

Centerplate, the NFL’s largest food and beverage vendor, has partnered with Farm Aid co-founder John Mellencamp to promote its new line of “Homegrown”-branded locally sourced concessions. The partnership will kick off this weekend with bowls of beef and pork chili at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Eight Former Secretaries of Agriculture to Convene

This week, USDA announced the commemoration of its 150th year by bringing together eight former secretaries of agriculture at the 2012 Agricultural Outlook Forum, February 23 to 24.

Addressing Unemployment through Agriculture

The Michigan Land Institute is seeking to lower the unemployment rate through farming. The organization recently kicked off a program that would help low-income families gain the tools and resources needed to start farming.

This year, when people see New England vs. New York, they think about football. But here at American Farmland Trust we think about…. You guessed it—farmland! When it comes to having land with the ability to feed us, we need to keep New England and New York in the huddle.

Unfortunately, the home turf of NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Eli Manning are also among America’s most threatened farming areas. Both regions are waging serious battles to save their farms–and they’re not always winning. Between 1982 and 2007, New York lost nearly 450,000 acres of farmland while New England lost 299,700 acres.

The disappearance of farms to highways, stripmalls and sprawling development is a critical problem in America. Of course, the corn chips that we eat at our Super Bowl parties didn’t start out in a bag! The snacks we’ll enjoy with friends and family on Sunday—along with the fruits, vegetables, dairy and meats needed for a healthy diet—depend on having a strong national team of farms and ranches. The loss of farmland threatens the ability of farming families to grow our food.

Did you know:

• An acre of farmland is 43,560 sq ft, which is just about the size of a football field (without the end zones).
• Over the last 25 years, the United States has lost approximately 23 million acres, which is the same size if Indiana (home state for this year’s Super Bowl).

This weekend, whether you’re cheering for the New York or New England team, you can also root for American Farmland Trust. Help the “farm” team by making a donation today to help save farmland!

About the Author: Jon Scholl is President of American Farmland Trust. Prior to AFT, he served as Counselor to the Administrator for Agriculture Policy at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Jon and his

Within the world of an increasingly localized food movement, we are ever more familiar with buying a peck of heirloom apples, serving up a pound of grass-fed beef, decorating with a bouquet of seasonal flowers and adding a pinch or a dash of our local agricultural products to any meal.

A number of groups, including Wholesome Wave, an organization we have partnered with in New England, promote food culture reform by helping communities recognize the importance of local food production to their ongoing happiness, health and well-being. But even with a surge of interest in “local food,” and with a number of organizations working with us to support agriculture and all its benefits, it still remains difficult for many people to make the connection between the food we eat and the land required to grow it.

So what is the value of farmland? What can one acre of land do for us?

Common Ground, a farm, high school and education center in New Haven, Connecticut, teaches young people leadership skills and environmental stewardship with a single acre of farmland. Each year, on that one acre of agricultural land:

• Students grow more than 5,000 pounds of produce, including 43varieties of vegetables

• Thirty chickens, five ducks, five turkeys, two pigs, two goats, one rabbit, one sheep and one farm cat are tended

• New jobs are created through two paid summer internships and school-year jobs for 50 teenagers

With its single acre, a plot 1/7th the size of a Manhattan block, Common Ground shows us what farmland means for America.

As the students well know, a single acre can grow a lot of food. In terms of food production, an acre can be used to grow vegetables for 20 to 25 families for a 21-week season. With good soil, weather and conscientious management, one acre can produce 8,000 pounds of broccoli, 26,000 pounds of carrots or 30,000 pounds of field tomatoes in a growing season—or more than two gallons of milk per day.

The school illustrates, on a small scale, how an acre of farmland creates jobs. Students and interns take part in production, processing, distribution and waste management of the farm and its produce. In the state of Connecticut, home to Common Ground, agriculture represents $3.5 billion dollars of revenue a year and generates 20,000 jobs—about five jobs for every 100 acres of food production.

Of course, Common Ground’s primary focus is to produce the fruits of great education: successful students. For four years straight, the test scores at Common Ground have shown gains, including the largest gains of any Connecticut high school in 2010. Their graduation rates and college attendance also exceed the state average. As one school employee explained, “We think the opportunities for active, authentic learning produced by our 20-acre site”—including the one acre they have in production—are “a critical part” of the students’ learning. Their community environmental programs have grown beyond their own students to reach more than 8,000 students within the immediate community.

And the hands-on learning of their students includes lessons about the role that farmland plays in safeguarding our environment. An acre of land provides countless ecosystem benefits that help to safeguard clean water and breathable air and could not be reproduced or substituted by technology. These benefits include water filtration, flood reduction and carbon sequestration. Farmland also provides nesting habitat for many species of birds and wildlife.

Connecticut and the Northeast remains a region of small farms, where each acre of farmland is caught in a tug-of-war between farming and other uses—from housing developments to parking lots. With growing demands to pave over farmland, it is simply hard to picture just what we mean by an acre of farmland and perhaps even more importantly, what an acre of farmland means to us. The rolling vistas of farmland and barns, silos and pasture connect our present with the agricultural past that built our nation. Even today, they represent true production and productivity and serve to link us together in our communities.

Share your story in the comments below: “Why is an acre of farmland important to you?”

An earlier version of this piece was originally featured in the Huffington Post.

About the Author: Leah Mayor is the Working Lands Alliance Project Director and New England Project Manager at American Farmland Trust where she focuses on policy, outreach, and education about the importance of farmland protection in Connecticut and the Northeast. Mayor is the founder and principal of Taking Root, and also blogs about food and agricultural systems for a number of online platforms, including the Huffington Post.

Growing concerns about access to locally grown foods, public health issues and the conservation of natural resources recently converged in New York City at this year’s TEDx Manhattan. Among a diverse group including farmers, chefs, educators, environmentalists and local food advocates, I joined in for a day of idea sharing around the concept of “Changing the Way We Eat.”

The "edible" TEDx logo. (Photo/TEDx Manhattan)

The backdrop of the Manhattan skyline was a surprisingly fitting frame for a discussion about farms and food. TEDx Manhattan was a discussion of ideas rooted in the value of connections between rural and urban people—whether young or old, foodies or environmentalists—and about finding better ways to protect farms and food across the country.

For Patty Cantrell, a journalist working to make the business case for local and regional food, new roads to new markets are not paved in asphalt. Rather, the creation of market opportunities for local food products starts with connecting people. “It’s about making our way back to each other,” she explained, “and moving forward as a result.” Cantrell pointed to the Kalamazoo, Michigan-based Fair Food Matters as a model for empowering communities through food and for connecting people with the land that produces it.

The idea of community was a bit different for Fred Kirschenmann. A farmer in south central North Dakota who serves as both a Distinguished Fellow at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and as president of the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, Kirschenmann appealed to the value of the land as a vital piece in the discussion about our food. “Soil is a vibrant, living community. A community of life,” he remarked. Using examples from challenging weather events of the past year, he warned of the pressures of environmental changes on soil that is continually slipping away.

Enjoying a local food lunch with presenter Gary Oppenheimer, founder of AmpleHarvest.org (Photo/TEDx Manhattan)

Whether discussing how to safeguard soil quality to discovering new ways to provide healthier food options in schools, an undertone of the day was the critical need to think about the future today.  Michelle Hughes, Director of GrowNYC’s New Farmer Development Project, connected the rapid loss of farmland to development with the need to cultivate new farmers. The New Farmer Development Project works with immigrant families in New York City to provide access to farmland and to assistance in finding local market opportunities. As Hughes explained, connecting the new farmers to land is making a positive impact on immigrant families and communities while keeping farmland viable and healthy.

The farm and food innovators throughout the audience were an energized community in themselves. I was even able to catch up with Cara Rosaen of Real Time Farms after her impassioned talk on empowering eaters and farmers. In the end, I left with a hopeful feeling. The lesson of the day: When it comes to the health of our lands, access to healthy food, and a viable future for farms, ideas are worth creating, developing and believing in as part of a community invested in a healthy future for us all.