Unless you factor in volcanic eruptions at sea (which we don’t count), the acres available to grow food, build homes, and set aside as habitat decrease every year.
Deciding what to build where, or how land should be used, is a complex, complex, and controversial topic. In this episode of the Ag Policy Connection podcastNow, host Kelvin Heppner explains some of the competing interests in land that can have ripple effects not just in our own backyard, but across the rest of the country.
Even within land-use designations, subcompetition also exists, such as when a pasture or hay grower shifts to growing corn for ethanol because of profitability prospects.
While most people would agree that preserving farmland is a priority in agriculture, many farmers’ retirement plans include selling their land to the highest bidder, which means that land It could also be a developer. People need a place to live, but they also need to find food to feed them.
As I said, it’s complicated.
This week’s poll asks you to choose your top three land use priorities if you were responsible for planning more than just your farmland.
