Community planning is not complete without a plan for agriculture. Planning establishes a framework for an economically and environmentally sustainable agricultural industry. An effective plan includes land use policies and programs to keep land available and affordable for farming, economic development tools to improve profitability and conservation practices to keep the land healthy. A plan with these elements will help support local farmers, protect natural resources and preserve important landscapes.

American Farmland Trust can develop, implement and evaluate local, regional or state plans for agriculture, whether as stand-alone documents or components of a larger comprehensive plan. These plans can include such elements as:

• Land Use Policies and Programs: Purchase of development rights, transfer of development rights, agricultural districts, zoning, cluster zoning, right-to-farm and tax relief.
• Economic Development Tools: Agritourism, direct marketing, branding of local agricultural products, value-added processing and product diversification.
• Farming and Ranching Techniques: Integrated pest management, nutrient management and grass-based farming.

Our Products and Services

Case studies provide in-depth analysis of successful programs and cutting-edge techniques.

Surveys and focus groups identify and assess the challenges farmers and farmland owners are facing, their future plans/needs, the level of public support for new and existing programs and policies and more.

Feasibility studies evaluate whether a community is considering techniques (e.g., purchase or transfer of development rights) that will effectively address agricultural and growth issues.

Agricultural economic development program assessments identify techniques and issues that are barriers to profitable farming, and they recommend methods to ensure the long-term viability of agriculture.

Mapping identifies and prioritizes land to protect.

Funding assessments evaluate the cost to fund new and existing farmland protection programs and identify potential local, state and federal sources of funding for farmland protection.

Facilitation enables task forces, steering committees and other entities developing plans for agriculture to reach their goals.

Ordinance drafting and reviewing provides comprehensive and accurate language to structure programs and policies.

For more information on AFT's services, contact Jane Kirchner at 202-378-1231 or jkirchner@farmland.org.