WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD News) — Access to farmland remains a key barrier for many producers.
While rising land values have slowed, Julia Freedgood with American Farmland Trust said affordability is still a challenge.
“Prices are still really elevated, but maybe not going up. It was like a 42% increase in cropland values in five years, which was just phenomenal. I think about 39% overall. It seems like right now things are cooling off. That would be good news for anybody who’s trying to expand or enter agriculture.”
Freedgood said there is no single solution to improving farmland access, but she supports expanding programs that connect retiring farmers with those just getting started.
“I keep looking for that kind of that special sauce that’s going to like solve all the problems. Right now I’m like, everybody’s just got to do a little bit. We all have to chip in and experiment to do pilot projects and figure things out until we can really find a way to make sure that there is a future for young and beginning farmers, as well as for the smaller operations that are really struggling to make ends meet and stay in the game.”
Freedgood said fewer operators now control more farmland, making it more difficult to maintain a diverse agricultural landscape.
As development continues to replace working farmland, Georgia is offering landowners a new way to help preserve their property.
The Farm Monitor’s John Holcomb reports on the Georgia Farmland Conservation Program, which allows landowners to permanently protect farmland through voluntary conservation easements while keeping it in private ownership.
The program also provides participating landowners with financial compensation for the development rights they give up.
