Home
Donate E-News Signup Contact Site Map Search
 
 

Stay Connected

Sign up for our free e-newsletters!

Please leave this field empty

 
Donate to American Farmland Trust
 
Get the Facts

Grant Opportunity! For Minnesota Growers to Reduce Pesticide Reliance

Snapshot of Minnesota Agriculture

Farming on the Edge: Minnesota Farmland in the Path of Development

 
Minnesota
  Print This Page
 

Every year, America loses 1.2 million acres of farmland, much of it our best and most productive farmland near where most Americans live. More than 28,000 acres of farmland per year are converted to development in Minnesota.

Sauk River Ecosystem Services Project Kicks Off

Butterfly and waterEnvironmental incentive markets—new “markets” that help farmers improve the environment while also expanding their sources of income—are emerging for water quality, endangered and threatened species habitat, and renewable fuels. AFT’s Sauk River Ecosystem Services Project will bring new enthusiasm to soil and water conservation by promoting land use Best Management Practices (BMPs) and will establish a "stackable" credit market of water quality trading and carbon trading to fund these BMPs. Not only is it important to promote these best practices from an environmental standpoint but also from an economic standpoint for Minnesota farmers.

The Sauk River is one of the six areas targeted by AFT's Agriculture & Environment campaign to demonstrate agriculture's role in combating climate change and improving water quality. AFT’s Brian Brandt helped “kick off” the project by leading discussions on the roles and responsibilities of project participants and cooperators.   

Growing Local: Connecting Farms and Food

Cabbage in GardenEvery day we are losing important urban-edge farmland that supplies 91 percent of U.S. fruits and 78 percent of our vegetables. Our Growing Local campaign builds healthy communities by protecting local farm and ranch land and supporting access to fresh, local food.


Agriculture & Environment: Protecting our natural resources

Protecting Our EnvironmentIn collaborating with farmers, environmentalists, and policy makers, our Agriculture and Environment initiative protects water quality and reduces climate change while improving the economic viability of farming.

  • Take action to support the BMP Challenge and help farmers decrease nitrogen applications and reduce fertilizer contamination of local watersheds.
  • Send an AFT eCard and inspire family and friends to protect the environment.

Federal Farm Policy and the farm bill

What’s in the farm bill and why is it important? Find out what’s next for the farm bill and how we can make sure the legislation's promises are turned into programs on the ground.

The Apple as Planet Earth Presentation
The Apple As Planet Earth

Do you know how much of the earth is suitable for farming? Watch the video and learn why protecting our farmland is so important.

 

Contact Us
Bob Wagner
Senior Policy Advisor, Farmland and Communities
800-370-4879
bwagner@farmland.org

 
American Farmland Trust