KEEPING CONNECTICUT FARMERS ON THE LAND & GROWING
The continuing loss of farmland across the Northeast challenges the viability of the region’s remaining farms. Between 1992 and 2012, almost 31 million acres of agricultural land were lost to development across the U.S. To address this threat, state Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) programs in the NEASDA region have collaborated with USDA, towns and counties, land trusts, and philanthropic organizations since 1978 to raise over $4.2 billion to permanently protect over 1.2 million acres of the region’s most productive and threatened farmland. An important source of funding is the ACEP, which provided $22.4 million for farmland conservation in the region in FY 2016 alone. These investments not only protect an invaluable natural resource, but also help facilitate farm expansion and improvements and the transition of land at a more affordable price for next generation farmers. According to a 2013 survey by American Farmland Trust and the University of Nebraska, 84 percent of farmers and ranchers who sold an easement with the help of ACEP funds used that money to reinvest in their business or in agricultural land. Thank you to American Farmland Trust for contributing this story.
Read more in How State and Federal Programs Support Farmers, Fishermen, Food Entrepreneurs and Consumers in the Northeast.