Comments on: Forty Acres of Farm Land in America is Lost to Development Every Hour

By: Gee Howe

Gee Howe — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 11:59:03 +0000

So — if You own farm land and you can sell it for ~$4K per acre to a land trust OR you can sell it to a developer for ~$10-$15-$20K per acre, what’s your decision going to be when you’re not getting younger or healthier etc. ???

By: Tyrrell

Tyrrell — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 00:38:58 +0000

I see a potential problem, doesn’t this also encourage land to be bought by ever increasingly larger farms? The only people that can by farms are the farmers who already farm 2-10 thousand acres. I have ran the numbers and it is barely possible to pay the interest on a farm loan if you don’t already have money let alone the payments on equipping feed repairs and so on. The only way to make it feasible is to distribute the cost of the new land over land that is already paid for. Sad but true

By: Suzan Erem

Suzan Erem — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 02:25:09 +0000

Just saw these comments – anyone interested in Sustainable Iowa Land Trust farms should contact me at suzan@silt.org – thanks!

By: Swhtng

Swhtng — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 16:27:53 +0000

As an owner of a conserved farm in Vermont, I would like to add that the taxes started low when the land was first conserved, then raised to nearly full value level because properties near us were selling for high prices. So now we have land worth half the valu but taxed at a high rate. Fortunately,we get some break because we farm and get land use breaks. Also, the conservation contracts can be dissolved by the conserving entity at any time if they “deem it necessary”.
Dispite these issues, we are hopeful the trusts will keep our land intact in the future. Without the trust there would bank hope.

By: RD

RD — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 03:43:50 +0000

Metro Vancouver was among North America’s first jurisdictions to implement these policies. 45 years later, the artificial scarcity they created, combined with strong population growth, has driven up housing prices and driven down wages, giving us the coveted number three spot for least affordable housing in the world, behind Sydney and Hong Kong.

You see the same act playing out in other jurisdictions that adopt these policies.

By: Erin

Erin — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 00:55:55 +0000

I’m curious how to get in on this.

I’m an aspiring farmer and would be able to maneuver family if needed to do this. Thanks!

By: David Studer

David Studer — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 17:01:04 +0000

The reason this happens is because of poor central planning. Cities typically approve of low-density housing in their zoning regulations. This forces the city to expand outward instead of growing up. Look at cities in Europe. They have been growing up for over a century. Now take a look at LA, the Bay Area, and Seattle. They are typically sprawled out and do not have high density living. This is because of poor central planning.

By: Timmy

Timmy — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 20:27:39 +0000

Inquiring minds want to know: is that more or less than is lost to plowing & tilling, chemicals and other causes of soil degradation.

By: Greg knoch

Greg knoch — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 18:06:41 +0000

I want more information please

By: Tim Goeders

Tim Goeders — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 17:02:47 +0000

This has lots of potential benefit on various levels; for young farmers, local communities, workforce development, etc. I would like to be kept informed on followup development.