The evolution of federal farmland protection policy

Excerpt

ABOUT 90 programs sponsored by the federal government have the potential to reduce, directly or indirectly, the availability of agricultural land in the United States (3). Public works projects, such as highways, water resource developments, and sewage treatment facilities, generally “have their greatest impact on agricultural land by encouraging subsequent nonagricultural development” in proximity to the capital improvement (4).

Federal officials in charge of these single-purpose programs are frequently unaware of or do not consider the adverse effects on agricultural lands. Consequently, alternatives that might accommodate expected community growth and at the same time minimize farmland losses are left unexplored. Furthermore, the placement of capital improvements, such as highways, sometimes conflicts with state or local efforts to protect an agricultural area from development.

In recent years there have been various attempts in both the legislative and executive branches to keep the federal government from contributing to the unnecessary and irreversible conversion of farmland to nonfarm uses. The Farmland Protection Policy Act, a part of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981, is the latest and potentially most significant result of these efforts.

Executive efforts

Among the federal executive agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has …