TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 The loss of prime farmland is threatening the region's agricultural industry. I. Farms and the Bay................................................................................................3 Farming vs. Development: Why farms and farming are important for the health of the Chesapeake. II. Tools for Preserving Farmland ..............................................................................5 Ways to save farmland for the future: G Easements: Agreements that specify what can and cannot be done on the land G Planning and zoning: Local regulations that control land use, based on a community's master plan for growth ofContents III. Farmland Preservation Programs ..........................................................................8 Descriptions of local, state, and federal agricultural land preservation programs: G Local Table I private and public land trusts I purchase of development rights I transfer of development rights G State I income tax credits BayRegion I real estate tax breaks G Federal I Farm and Ranchland Protection Program FRPP Chesapeake I Forest Legacy Program the I Grassland Reserve Program in IV. Increasing Farmland Protection ..........................................................................13 Four recommendations for landowners, citizens, and policy-makers on how to strengthen farmland protection in your area. AgriculturalLands ving Resources................................................................................................................16 A comprehensive list of information sources for federal, state, local, and private programs Preserto and assistance. GuideA Published by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 2006. INTRODUCTION Farms and Farmland in the Chesapeake Bay Region In 2005, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation issued Vital Signs, a report on the state of Chesapeake agriculture. That report concluded that even though agriculture in our region is productive and extraordinarily important, it faces serious and growing threats. The greatest of these has proven to be loss of farmland to development. Preventing this ongoing loss is the purpose of this guide. As a major industry in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, agriculture plays a key role in the I watershed's economy. Just as importantly, agricul- n ture is important to our sense of community tr across the watershed, because farming helps o define cultural values and a rural way of life, just d as farmland helps define many a local landscape. uctio Agriculture is also important to the region's envi- n ronment, because well-managed farmland pro- vides crucial water filtering. It feeds the ground- 1 water supply and supports a variety of habitats, Ch including some of the forests essential for diverse esa wildlife and clean water. We cannot restore the pea health of the Chesapeake Bay without ensuring a ke healthy agricultural economy in the region. BayFound As Vital Signs made clear, the threats that agricul- atio ture faces are real, and none is more pressing than n that posed by farmland loss. The simple fact is that without good farmland, farmers can't farm. Despite its value, however, agriculture faces great pressure from our region's exploding human pop- ulation. Since the best farmland has the most pro- ductive, well-drained soils, with moderate slopes and mostly-cleared land, it is also the land most commonly favored for growth and development. The rate of loss of prime farmland across the watershed has slowed a bit from the astonishing pace of previous decades, but agricultural land is This farmland on Maryland's still being converted to suburban development by Eastern Shore is threatened tens of thousands of acres per year, a rate that by development. the Chesapeake Bay Foundation considers unhealthy for the continuation of agriculture and unhealthy for the Bay. Though the extraordinary loss of some 1.25M acres of farmland in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia between the years 1987-1992 slowed to a loss of about 160,000 acres in those three states in the following five years, it accelerated again to Farmland losses have a way of feeding on themselves. 319,000 acres (almost 64,000 acres or 100 square miles per year) in 1997-2002.1 The number of individual farms in the three Bay states went down by almost 11,000 between 1987-1992, leveled off at a loss of about 1,500 over the next five years, but rose again to a loss of almost 5,000 farms between 1997-2002.2 These numbers surely represent a warning sign. Farmers face a double-edged sword. As the eco- nomic margin for farming gets thinner and prof- Introduction itability shrinks, more and more farmers leave farm- 2 ing, encouraging the conversion of farmland to developed uses. Farmland conversion also occurs as a result of enormous outside economic pressures. The result, once again, is farmers leaving their farms. Farmland losses have a way of feeding on them- selves. At the most basic level, successful farming requires a critical mass of resources and markets. A sufficient land base is a crucial component. When farmers sell out to developers and prime cropland begins to grow houses, the resulting suburbanization erodes and fragments farmland. The mechanics of farming, such as moving equip- An auto auction takes ment around, become more difficult. New home- over farmland in Penn- owners object to unexpected sights, sounds, ving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region sylvania. smells, and long work hours in the real world of agriculture. Land prices rise to match urbaniza- tion's value, which makes staying on the land to farm it even harder. A Guide to Preser 1,000,000 The increasing competition for open land endan- 100,000 gers a way of life, a substantial proportion of the Chesapeake region's economic livelihood, and the 10,000 environmental integrity of the watershed's open 1,000 space and natural resources. The purpose of this 100 guide is to provide farmers and others with infor- mation about farmland's importance to the Bay 10 and some of the methods, tools, and programs 0 available to help save it. FARMS AND THE BAY Farming vs. Development F Agriculture is a major source of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution. So if that's the case, isn't the conversion of farmland to urban development a good thing? Doesn't farming produce more pollution than new suburbs? arm The general answer is no. Generally, urban/suburban development delivers the greatest amount of s nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to local waterways and the Bay per acre: 30 lb/acre/year of nitro- a gen, compared with 17 lb/acre/year for agriculture, according to the Chesapeake Bay Program. Well- n managed agricultural land is still the next best thing to forests in restoring the "Great Green Filter" d of old-growth woodland and natural grasslands that covered the Chesapeake watershed for the first ten thousand years of the Bay's existence. Meanwhile, urban/suburban land uses are expanding at a th furious pace, while farm uses shrink, so the net load to the Bay is increasing. e B An acre of well-managed agricultural land is bet- ay ter for the Bay than an acre of new development. Here's why: 3Chesa First, an acre of farmland-undeveloped- pea retains its rainwater filtration capacity. But an ke acre of development (even with just one house on Bay it) never occurs alone, so filtration capacity in Fo the area is soon compromised. Accompanying und the one developed acre, with its one or two hous- atio es, are many more acres of supporting develop- n ment, from new and expanded roads to shopping centers, parking lots, rooftops, schools, fire sta- tions, recreation centers, and churches. In other words, there is always a multiplier of additional land use changes that accompanies development. These uses customarily cause an increase in the pollution running off the land, well above that of equivalent well-managed farmland. Second, an acre of development permanently dis- places an acre of the working landscape. Farmland can always revert to forest. But devel- oped land rarely, if ever, reverts to open land-it usually just becomes more intensively developed over time. Also, farmland can quite readily be managed to release much less nitrogen, phospho- rus, and sediment pollution. (Urbanizing land Farmland is lost to can also be better managed; it's just that it usually encroachment from entails significant engineering and construction housing developments expense and low pollutant-removal efficiencies.) in Pennsylvania. Low-density sprawl-one house per one or more acres-also increases the use of septic systems as the sewage treatment method of choice, and such systems are responsible for a substantial amount of pollution. An acre of well-managed agricultural land is better for the Bay than an acre of new development. Third, much of the forest land in the watershed occurs in conjunction with farms. A quarter of the region's farmland-more than 4.6M acres in three states-is forested.3 This natural land com- prises about 25 percent of the total forest in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.4 In addi- tion, a significant proportion of farmland is man- s and the Bay aged in pasture or allowed to lie fallow at any given time, which produces some of the lowest nitrogen pollution loadings of any land use. Farm4 Fourth, conversion of farmland to urban/subur- ban land displaces natural habitat. An acre of lawn is a poor substitute for the wetlands, forests, pastures, and meandering headwater streams typ- ically found among mid-Atlantic farmlands. Hundreds or thousands of acr es of impervious Runoff is a problem on some surfaces created by development can actually farms, but remedies are avail- endanger local habitat by heating streams and able and cost-efficient. funneling fast-moving runoff into blown-out channels and sediment-choked shallows. These changes to the physical environment are perma- nent. Research has shown that as total impervi- ousness in a small watershed approaches 10 per- WHY DO WE SPRAWL? cent, stream water quality declines. As that per- centage grows, so does stream degradation. Consumption of open land outpaces population ving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region growth rates by several hundred percent. Why are we consuming so much more rich farmland and Finally, air pollution is a regular by-product of forest than we used to? Why are we spreading converting farmland to sprawl. Spread-out resi- out so far and wide? dential and commercial land uses on (former) farmland require people to use automobiles and A Guide to Preser There's no one answer. Stagnant farm profitabil- trucks in an upward spiral that far outpaces the ity and high land costs near population centers rate of population growth in an area. In the lead to residential development on lower-priced, Chesapeake Bay region, emissions from trans- formerly agricultural fields in rural communities. portation/mobile sources account for a quarter to Demand for big homes on affordable large lots a third of the nitrogen pollution in the Bay. drives development "farther out." Local govern- ments continue to subsidize uncontrolled sprawl that requires roads, schools, and other public services. Such development is all that many developers build today. Ultimately, housing and commercial construction consumers hold the cards. We can demand a better way to grow. To TOOLS FOR CONSERVING FARMLAND ols for Given the importance of retaining farmland, it's essential that the public and private sectors work together for its preservation. Private individuals and organizations can preserve farm- land by ensuring that land, or certain interests in it, is owned by individuals and organiza- tions whose objective is to keep it in farming. Local government can lend a hand by regu- C lating land use in a fair and appropriate way. ons Farmland Preservation Through e Ownership: Easements rv One of the most important ways to preserve farm- in land is to protect its future uses through owner- g ship. Of course, it's great if a farm family owns F farmland outright and declares that, as long as a they own it, it will remain in that use. But things r change, and simple "fee" ownership may not be m enough. Outside pressures to develop the land la can be substantial. Family members can move out n of farming or out of the geographic area entirely. d And the land-the most precious resource neces- sary for farming to continue-can get dribbled 5 away, so that if this family ultimately decides to Ch get out of farming, no family may ever again farm esa that land. peake Bay The most effective ownership tool for preventing Fo such a circumstance is the conservation ease- und ment. This can also be a way to reduce current atio income and property taxes, and future estate n Keeping family farms taxes. Here's how conservation easements work. intact is a goal for many farmers. A farmland or conservation easement is an agree- ment drawn up between the landowner and someone else, usually a government entity or pri- vate land trust (i.e., an organization formed to hold, manage, and enforce easements). An ease- ment provides nothing more than what the landowner wants it to provide, since it is mutual- ly drawn. Usually, a conservation easement prevents non- agricultural uses on the farm (most often forever, though some "term" easements expire after a number of years). What can or cannot be done on the land is spelled out. For example, the easement may provide for the building of one additional family dwelling, but prevent any other residential or commercial development, or major excavation or mining. The easement is sold or donated to a land trust, and once it is executed, the land trust records the easement at the local court house. Then it is legally binding on current and future property owners. Farmland preservation easements are among the land best ways to assure that farmland will remain farmland in the future, but easements work best when combined with good local regulation. If a landowner donates a permanent easement to RIGHTS OF PROPERTY OWNERSHIP a local government or qualified land trust, he or she may receive a federal income tax deduction Property ownership is often likened to hold- for its value. An easement usually reduces the ing a "bundle" of rights. One has the right to use value of land for the purposes of state or local one's property under federal, state and local property taxation, and it may reduce estate taxes law-the right to farm or timber it, sometimes as well. Thus, easements can be important tools the right to drill under it, the right to build on it, for persons planning for the transition of farm- Tools for Conserving Farm land between generations, or planning an estate. the right to take and use water from it, the right 6 to bequeath it to children, the right to borrow against it, the right to restrict its use, and so on. Farmland preservation easements are among the One or another of the rights in that bundle can best ways to assure that farmland will remain be "severed" from the property and sold or given farmland in the future, but easements work best to someone else, while the rest of the rights when combined with good local regulation.5 remain. An easement does this, specifying or restricting certain uses. Common "use" ease- ments are those that are often granted to public Local planning and zoning is covered in the next utilities, so that pipelines can cross under one's section of this guide. See page 8 for information land or power lines above it. One can also grant about some programs that support easement a "negative" easement with respect to some part donations, purchases, and sales, and page 16 for further resources. of that bundle of rights, meant to prevent some- thing from happening. Planning and Zoning The regulation of land use isn't a mystery, and it ving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region isn't a communist plot. For farmland preservation, INDIVIDUAL VS. COMMUNITY it is a crucial adjunct to ownership. Most local governments across the Chesapeake Bay region PROPERTY RIGHTS have the lawful and Constitutional authority to Aren't there private property rights that must be plan and zone. Indeed, government not only has A Guide to Preser the authority but, it can be argued, the responsi- protected, with which zoning would interfere? bility to plan, so that the future of its landscape Yes, private property rights are protected under and its economy isn't left to chance, trend, or the our Constitution, but they are not absolute. A path of least resistance. useful analogy is this: We have every right to swing our arms in all directions-until our arms connect with another's nose. Property rights are A community comprehensive or master plan similar; we have every right to enjoy them- that clearly asserts agricultural land preservation unless that "enjoyment" begins to interfere with as an objective, and determines where develop- the legitimate needs and lawfully expressed ment and farming are to occur, is a useful first desires of the rest of the community. step. Community master plans are given signifi- cant weight by the courts in determining the rea- sonableness of local regulations. If a local juris- To The regulation of land use is a crucial adjunct ols to ownership. for Conservin diction develops its plan after careful, reasonable g study and citizen input, and closely follows the F guidance of the state statutes granting the power a to plan and zone, the plan is likely to pass legal r muster. mlan Zoning is the lawful way to implement local com- d prehensive plans. The local zoning ordinance and its maps should closely follow the direction pro- 7 vided by the master plan. Zoning, too, should be Ch carefully, fairly, and openly developed and adopt- esa ed, and provide for a variety of land uses and pea activities. Among the things a zoning ordinance ke can do is try to encourage and protect farmland Bay uses. Foundatio Farming cannot be protected by so-called "rural n zoning" that permits residential development at densities of one house per acre, one house per five acres, or even one house per ten acres. Such zoning usually just leads to large-lot homes and residential sprawl into what quickly become for- mer farm areas. Only very low residential densities, on the order of one dwelling per 25 or even 50 acres, can begin to protect farmland and farming. Mandatory clus- tering of new development in these areas can help, too. While such zoning is sometimes politi- Without good zoning, cally difficult to enact, it is a very important farmland is whittled away tool-both for communities who want to main- by suburban sprawl. tain a farmland base, and for farmers who want to remain in the industry and retain farmland for their children and grandchildren. Further, there are sometimes ways to make the "bite" of very low density zoning a little softer. Some of those ways are explained in the next section of this guide, under "local programs". land Preservation Program FARMLAND PRESERVATION PROGRAMS Private Programs: Land Trusts Dozens of local, regional, and even national-level private land trustsundertake a wide vari- ety of land preservation work across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Their projects range in size from very small to very large. In 1999, The Conservation Fund, working with part- ners such as CBF, protected-but kept in active wood production use-some 50,000 acres of Maryland Eastern Shore forest land. In 2005, the Lancaster (PA) Farmland Trust protected, via easements, 28 farms and 1,630 acres of some of the richest agricultural land in the nation. At the other end of the spectrum, a small, all-volunteer land trust can close one 150-acre easement in a good year. Private land trusts can often provide the expertise to help a farmer structure the right kind of ease- ment. Some of these trusts depend entirely upon donated easements, while others can help put together an easement purchase package from a variety of private, state, and federal funding sources. Sometimes the "deals" are bigger than a small, volunteer local trust can handle, but usually these trusts are able to call for assistance from larger, sister organizations (for example, the Trust for Public Farm Land or The Nature Conservancy at the national level; the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy in Maryland, or the Virginia Outdoors Foundation at regional or 8 state levels). Local Programs In addition to regulating the use of land through zoning, local government can also help landowners undertake farmland preservation. The two best-known local government "assists" are "purchase of development rights" PDR and "transfer of development rights" TDR pr ograms.6 With PDR (also known as "PACE," or Purchase of Conservation Easement) programs, local govern- ments set up a regular source of funding to purchase development rights on farms. (Funds often come from real estate transfers, but are sometimes budgeted or created through single or multi-year bonds.) The development rights are "severed" or separated from the underlying real property, which remains fully in the hands of the landowner. The local program sets criteria and a fair process for selecting such properties, and a limited number are processed until the annual funding is exhaust- ed. Again, what are purchased are the development rights from farmland, rather than the farmland itself or an easement on it. ving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region TDR programs work differently. With TDRs, local governments help create a marketplace for the use of development rights. First, a local government identifies farmland preservation "sending" areas, as well as areas where it wishes to encourage new development ("receiving" areas). Then, the juris- A Guide to Preser diction significantly reduces the allowable zoning density in preservation areas, and gives farmland a certain number of development rights per acre, usually based on what could have occurred before the allowable density was reduced. Farmers then sell their development rights directly to developers to use in the identified "receiving" areas, so the developers gain a bit more density than they could otherwise have. (In some programs, landowners can place their rights in development rights "banks" set up by local governments, which in turn sell them to developers and then reimburse the farmers.) Once the development rights are sold, development can no longer occur on the farmland. This sys- tem provides additional equity to farmers whose development opportunities have been reduced. At the same time, it helps put growth in the right places, where local master plans and zoning say it should go. Farm The two best-known local government "assists" lan are "purchase of development rights" PDR d P and "transfer of development rights" TDR re programs. servati TDR programs are not panaceas. They do not o work everywhere, and local governments must n create them carefully. Where there is little P demand for additional density in receiving areas, r where the local government fails to set up the o program properly, or where additional density in g receiving areas is already achievable without the ra use of TDRs, such programs may not succeed. But m TDR programs can work well in places where real s estate pressures are high and local jurisdictions are willing to craft a viable program. 9Chesa In addition to the programs noted here, some pea local governments (e.g., in Maryland) have creat- ke ed their own public land trusts. They advise farm- Bay ers on the creation of easements and accept Fo donated easements for stewardship and manage- und ment. Some Pennsylvania counties also have local atio farmland preservation boards, set up through the n Commonwealth's Department of Agriculture. State Programs Virginia Virginia offers landowners who donate a conser- vation easement the opportunity to take an income tax credit-up to 40 percent of the fair market value of the easement, at up to $100,000 per year or less. If the credit isn't used up in a year, the owner may carry it forward for nine more years. If, because of the high value of the easement, a farmer has more available in tax cred- Farmland and forest land it than can be used over ten years by virtue of are often interspersed. income tax level, he or she can sell the remaining tax credits to another taxpayer who needs them. This transferable tax credit program has resulted in bringing tens of thousands of acres under ease- ment very quickly. But its success has meant that $100M worth of tax credits have been claimed over the past five years, and because of this, the program is undergoing review. s Virginia offers landowners who donate a con- servation easement an income tax credit-up to 40 percent of the fair market value of the easement, at up to $100,000 per year or less. Virginia also offers assistance to landowners seeking to protect their farms through the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, a state land trust. Finally, the land Preservation Program Commonwealth provides real estate tax breaks for farmland within designated agricultural and forestal districts, and for land under easement. Farm10 Maryland Maryland has several notable programs that assist in preserving farmland. The Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation MALPF, part of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, funnels state funds into county-based farmland preserva- tion programs to purchase easements. Not all counties participate, but the program is over-sub- scribed, with a multi-year wait for assistance. Maryland also has an income tax credit program for land conservation. However, because it is limit- ed to $5,000/taxpayer/year and credits are not transferable, it is much less successful than Virginia's. The tax credits can be carried forward for ving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region up to 16 years (and can total up to $80,000 for an individual and $160,000 per couple filing jointly). The Maryland Environmental Trust is an expert A Guide to Preser state-chartered land trust that can undertake com- plex land conservation transactions with farmers Contour stripcropping in York and other landowners. It also provides support to County, Pennsylvania. small local land trusts. Maryland also operates Program Open Space and the Rural Legacy Program. The former is a thirty-year old program that uses a share of each real estate transfer tax transaction to buy open space and parkland and assist with easements. The Open Space account has proved a too-tempting source of General Fund monies in times of state need, but conser- vation organizations have recently managed to force it back to its original purposes. The Rural Legacy program, a part of Maryland's 1997 "Smart Growth" initiatives, focuses additional funds on large, multi-property areas, for which local jurisdictions with non-profit partners compete. Farm The Maryland Environmental Trust is an expert lan state-chartered land trust that can undertake d P complex land conservation transactions with re farmers and other landowners. servation P Pennsylvania r Pennsylvania has accelerated its farmland conservation activities in the past several years, through the o bounty of state "Growing Greener" funds. With more than 325,000 acres protected, the g Commonwealth has preserved more farmland permanently than any other state in the nation.7 ra Through the Clean and Green Act of 1974, the state also authorizes special lower farmland use tax- m ation on 10-acre or larger farm and forest-use tracts. County assessment offices administer this pro- s gram, and rollback taxes and penalties help prevent quick conversion of land that is taking advan- tage of these benefits. 11Chesa The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program allows the state, counties, and localities to pur- pea chase farmland easements. A state board oversees county preservation boards, distributing funds and ke monitoring their use at the local level. Criteria for choosing farms includes the quality of the farm- Bay land, development pressures, the use of good conservation practices on the farm, and participation Fo in an Agricultural Security Area of at least 500 enrolled acres.8 undation Federal Government Programs Many federal programs provide financial support for farmland conservation and related activities (or are intended to do so, if adequately funded). Here are three directly related to farmland preservation. Farm and Ranchland Protection Program FRPP provides modest matching funds to eligible enti- ties (state and local government agencies, land trusts, etc.) for purchasing easements on productive agricultural land. The USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service NRCS administers the pro- gram through state NRCS offices. Applications are reviewed in annual cycles. Before federal funds can be committed, a pending offer to a landowner to purchase an easement is required. The offer must be backed by existing funding from elsewhere (e.g., a state or local source) of at least 50 percent of the fair market value of the ease- ment. If an application for funds is accepted, it may receive FRPP funding of up to 50 percent of the remainder of the easement purchase price. Unfortunately, no actual regulations controlling how the program operates were ever adopted. Also, changing federal procedures (such as appraisal requirements) have played havoc with state matching funds. Finally, although this program has provided millions of dollars in assistance in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, it is vastly over-subscribed nation-wide. The Forest Legacy Program aims to facilitate the purchase of conservation easements on working forest lands threatened with conversion. USDA's Forest Service operates this program in conjunction s Pennsylvania has accelerated its farmland conser- vation activities in the past several years, through the bounty of state "Growing Greener" funds. with state forestry agencies. After preparing a man- agement plan, private landowners may apply to the program for up to 75 percent of the cost of easement acquisition. This assists land trusts in undertaking these acquisitions. land Preservation Program Again, the program has been highly subscribed, though its budgets have been severely limited. It is not clear at press time whether the program has Farm survived recent budget cuts, but information is 12 available through state forestry agencies. The Grassland Reserve Program is a new pro- gram to protect and maintain grazing operations. It is limited to private lands of 40 or more contigu- ous acres historically dominated by grasses or shrubs and currently used for grazing. The pro- gram authorizes compensation to farmers for per- manent or 30-year easements or shorter-term rental agreements. Conservation plans are required, and restoration agreements may also be entered into between NRCS and landowners. State agencies develop their own selection criteria, which NRCS uses to rank and select applications. ving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region While the Chesapeake region participates in this program (in 2005, Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania accounted for 87 contracts covering Agriculture and homeowners about 7,400 acres), states with extensive rangeland are uneasy neighbors in dominate. In 2005, the program enrolled some A Guide to Preser Pennsylvania. 385,000 acres nationwide. Incr INCREASING FARMLAND PROTECTION easing What can we as landowners, farmers, citizens, lawmakers, and government officials do to strengthen the programs and practices mentioned in this guide? Farm Get information. Find out where to get assistance in saving your farm or other farmland in your com- munity. Is there a local or regional land trust in your area that can help with conservation easements? la Does the local farm extension office have any contacts with farmland preservation groups? Do the n state legislators from your area know about state funding for these programs? d Pr Next, contact your township, city, or county planning and zoning office and inquire how the local com- o prehensive or master plan and the local zoning t ordinance relate to saving farmland. You might ask: ect G What kind of zoning is present on this io area's farmland? n G Is it truly protective of that use? Or will it 13C allow the kind of residential and commer- hes cial development that can ultimately lead to ape sprawling growth? ake Bay G Does this locality use any helpful tools, Fou such as PDR/PACE, TDR, or state programs, nda to protect agricultural land? tion G Will local elected officials be considering changes to the plan or the zoning ordinance any time soon, or should they? Should the community systematically think about what can and should be done to stem farmland losses? Seek change with others, and use the experience of other communities. If you are troubled by the steady loss of farms and farmland in your area, and are interested in saving these resources, oth- ers undoubtedly are as well. Talk to neighbors, other farmers, members or leaders of local civic groups, churches, watershed organizations, or A well-managed farm land trusts. Raise your concerns with local or is good for the Bay. state political leaders. If enough citizens and politicians see a local problem and seek remedies, change can happen. As noted in this guide, there are counties, towns, and townships across the Chesapeake region, in each of the watershed's states, that have wrestled Talk to neighbors, other farmers, members or leaders of local civic groups, churches, water- shed organizations, or land trusts. Raise your concerns with local or state political leaders. land Protection with some of these same problems. Some communities have successfully confronted them; others are still experimenting with partial solutions. Use their experiences as examples. A variety of state agen- cies and non-profit organizations (some of which are mentioned in the Resources section of this guide) also can offer assistance. Go to them for help-that's what they're there for! Investigate state law and policy. Good federal and state law, policy, and funding can take farmers a Increasing Farm long way toward preserving agricultural land. If the programs and policies mentioned here are not available in your state, you and your group of like-minded citizens might wish to approach your area's 14 state legislators. Bring your sincere concern and evidence of the problems you see, and seek their help in solving those problems with programs and policies. Take your own, small steps. Each of us is a housing and commercial land consumer. Our individual decisions on where to live and where to put our businesses add up. As we make these personal choic- es, we should consider how they affect the farmland and streams we love, and whether different lifestyles might support these important values better. ving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region A Guide to Preser CONCLUSION As great swaths of farmland change from pasturing cows to parking cars, and as green fields convert to gray pavement, maintaining well-managed farms in parts of the Bay region-and restoring good water quality-become ever more difficult. The dollar value that urbaniza- tion often places on good farmland makes resisting such change harder every day. Yet sav- ing farmland, and saving the Bay, is vitally important. This guide presents a number of ways to think about and act on the objective of saving farmland. Some may be challenging to enact, and others arduous to undertake. But unless we employ such C tools, we will lose our chance for long-term farm- o land preservation. In other words, by not taking n action now, we stand the very real risk of losing c our ability to remain stewards of the landscape lu into the future. sion 15Chesapeake Bay Foundation Fresh local produce is one advantage of keeping stewards on the land. RESOURCES America Farmland Trust Pennsylvania Land Trust Alliance 1200 18th Street NW PO Box 587 Washington, D.C., 20036 114 Walnut St 202/331-7300, info@farmland.org Harrisburg, PA 17108-0587 717/233-0221 Chesapeake Bay Foundation www.ltanet.org 6 Herndon Avenue Annapolis, MD 21403 PA Land Use Planning and Technical Assistance Prog. 410/268-8816, cbf.org Department of Community and Economic Development Eastern Shore Land Conservancy 400 North Street, 4th Floor PO Box 169 Commonwealth Keystone Building Queenstown, MD 21658 Harrisburg, PA 17120-0225 410/827-9756, www.eslc.org 866/466-3972, www.nepa.com Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation The Conservation Fund Foundation National Office Maryland Department of Agriculture 1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Room 104 Arlington, Virginia 22209-2156 Annapolis, Maryland 21401-8960 703/525-6300, 703/525-4610 fax 410/841-5860 voice, 410/841-5730 fax, www.conservationfund.org Resources www.malpf.info The Nature Conservancy Maryland Department of Agriculture Home Office 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway 16 4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 Annapolis, MD 21401 Arlington, VA 22203-1606 410/841-5700, www.mda.state.md.us 703/841-5300, www.nature.org Maryland Environmental Trust Trust for Public Land 100 Community Place, 1ST floor Washington Office Crownsville, MD 21032 660 Pennsylvania Ave. S.E., Suite 401 410/514-7900, 1/877-514-7900 (toll-free) Washington, D.C. 20003 www.dnr.state.md.us 202/543-7552, www.tpl.org Maryland Department of Planning U.S. Department of Agriculture 301 W. Preston Street Suite 1101 1400 Independence Ave., S.W. Baltimore, MD 21201-2305 Washington, DC 20250 1/877-767-6272 (toll free) www.usda.gov www.mdp.state.md.us Valley Conservation Council Middle Peninsula Land Trust 17 Barrister's Row P.O. Box 585 Staunton, VA 24401 Mathews, VA 23109 877/216-1782, www.valleyconservation.org www.vwebstudios.com Virginia Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services ving Agricultural Lands in the Chesapeake Bay Region Northern Neck Land Conservancy 102 Governor St. PO Box 3 Richmond, VA 23219 Kilmarnock, Virginia 22482 804/786-2373, www.vdacs.virginia.gov 804/435-2814 www.nnconserve.org Virginia Dept. of Conservation & Recreation 203 Governor Street, Suite 302 A Guide to Preser NRCS Richmond, VA 23219 Natural Resources Conservation Service 804/225-2048, landcon@dcr.virginia.gov 14th and Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250 Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust 202/720-7246 PO Box 1114 www.nrcs.usda.gov Exmore, VA 23350-1114 757/442-5885, landtrust@earthlink.net Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture 2301 North Cameron Street Virginia Outdoors Foundation Harrisburg PA 17110 101 N. 14th St., 17th Floor 717/787-4737 Richmond, VA 23219 aginfo@state.pa.us 804/225-2147, www.virginiaoutdoorsfoundation.org Western Pennsylvania Conservancy 209 Fourth Avenue Pittsburgh, Pa. 15222 412/288-2777, www.paconserve.org NOTES 1 U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Census of Agriculture, 1997 and 2002. Over the years, the USDA has changed its definitions of farmland and its methodology for measuring change. While the above-noted statistics are generally reli- able, they are not precise. 2 Ibid. 3 USDA, U.S. Census of Agriculture 2002 4 USDA, U.S. Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis 2005 5 These two sets of tools are important for saving farmland. There is also a third, obvious requirement for saving farms and farming: the continued economic productivity of farm operations. There are a variety of state and federal programs that are available to help keep farming profitable; see CBF's Vital Signs report for more information. Local governments are also providing positive intervention with agricultural economic development assistance. Loudoun County, Virginia is one such example. 6 Several local jurisdictions in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania already employ such programs. Examples include the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Mannheim Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. N 7 Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Farmland Preservation 2006 o http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us/agriculture/CWP/view.asp?A=3&QUESTION_ID=128859 te 8 Ibid. s 17Chesapeake Bay Foundation Maryland Philip Merrill Environmental Center 6 Herndon Avenue Annapolis, MD 21403 410/268-8816 410/269-0481 from Baltimore metro 301/261-2350 (from D.C. metro) Pennsylvania The Old Water Works Building 614 North Front Street, Suite G Harrisburg, PA 17101 717/234-5550 Virginia Capitol Place 1108 East Main Street, Suite 1600 Richmond, VA 23219 804/780-1392 Web site: cbf.org E-mail: chesapeake@cbf.org Membership information: 888/SAVEBAY CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED ABOUT THE COVER: Soybeans are being planted in the residue of wheat as it is being harvested. Double-cropping of soybeans in the residue left by winter wheat yields two crops during a single growing season and protects the land from erosion. © Tim McCabe, Natural Resources Conservation Service PHOTO CREDITS: page 1: John Surrick page 2: Bob Nichols, Natural Resources Conservation Service page 3: David Harp page 4: Tim McCabe, Natural Resources Conservation Service page 5: David Harp page 7: CBF Staff page 9: CBF Staff The Chesapeake Bay's 64,000 square mile page 10: John Surrick watershed covers parts of six states and is page 12: Bob Nichols, Natural Resources Conservation Service home to more than 16 million people. page 13: Tim McCabe, Natural Resources Conservation Service Printed on recycled, recyclable paper with soy-based inks. 7/06