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Responding to the growing interest in local farmland protection programs and the need to restore funding to the state Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements program, AFT and the Thoroughbred RC&D convened a statewide farmland preservation roundtable at the Kentucky Horse Park in April.
Ralph Grossi, AFT’s President, kicked off the event with an update on the current status of the farm bill discussions. Change in the farm bill is inevitable, but a smaller budget baseline for agriculture (due largely to the ethanol-driven increase in corn prices) limits the room for creative new marketing and conservation programs that could help Kentucky’s farmers. One particularly promising opportunity currently gaining strength in Washington is revenue insurance, which would create a more effective safety net through better integration between commodity programs and crop insurance. AFT also has developed a series of recommendations for innovations to improve working lands conservation programs.
Brent Frazier of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture gave a history and status report on Kentucky’s PACE program, which has protected 25,000 acres on 120 farms, yet still has 643 applications pending with no money currently allocated in the state budget. Roundtable attendees emphasized the importance of communicating with their state legislators to urge that PACE program funding be restored. Frazier also shared details on the PACE program’s partnership with Fort Campbell to protect farms adjacent to the base as part of the Army Compatible Use Buffer program.
Carolyn Oldfield, coordinator for Thoroughbred and Eagle RC&D Councils, discussed local farmland conservation partnerships in Scott, Madison and Clark counties. Tim Dewitt emphasized the importance of a regional approach for the Bluegrass region with its designation on the World Monument Fund Watch List and its host responsibilities for the 2010 World Equestrian Games.
Billy Van Pelt shared the successful path of the Lexington-Fayette Purchase of Development Rights program, which has protected 18,000 acres since it was established in 2000. Lori Garkovich of the University of Kentucky and the Woodford County Agricultural Advisory Review Committee talked about the importance of coordinated land use planning and the future viability of farms to stem farmland loss on the local level.
Keith Rogers of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy discussed the development of a statewide Strategic Plan for Agriculture. The plan will focus on realistic priorities, outlining federal, state and non-governmental actions to reach those goals. Meetings for the plan will begin in May, with preliminary findings ready by the time the General Assembly reconvenes in January.
The roundtable concluded with an open discussion of other Kentucky innovations and needs, from Shelby Extension’s Green Acres educational program for new farmers to Oldham Ahead’s statewide transferable tax credit proposal to the state legislature’s Land Stewardship and Conservation Task Force and funding options for conservation programs.
For more information, contact Gerry Cohn of American Farmland Trust or Carolyn Oldfield of Thoroughbred RC&D.
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