The Future of Farming on the Urban Edge: Insights from 15 U.S. Counties about Farmland Protection and Farm Viability
Farmland protection and farm viability are two important aspects of urban-edge farming. Surveys of landowners and informant interviews were completed between 2005 and 2007 in 15 U.S. counties to examine the opportunities and constraints that farmers face in these areas. Landowners’ perceptions about...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems
2016-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/26 |
| _version_ | 1797706434103738368 |
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| author | Lydia Oberholtzer Kate Clancy J. Dixon Esseks |
| author_facet | Lydia Oberholtzer Kate Clancy J. Dixon Esseks |
| author_sort | Lydia Oberholtzer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Farmland protection and farm viability are two important aspects of urban-edge farming. Surveys of landowners and informant interviews were completed between 2005 and 2007 in 15 U.S. counties to examine the opportunities and constraints that farmers face in these areas. Landowners’ perceptions about the future outlook for their county’s agriculture varied greatly. Many operators in counties producing long-established crops, such as corn and soybeans, rely heavily on wholesale markets for sales. In other counties, farmers depend on a mix of wholesale and direct markets. Study results show that over half the respondents relying on direct markets operate small acreage farms with low gross agricultural sales. Operators using primarily wholesale markets tended to be more optimistic about the profitability and accessibility of their markets and the outlook for agriculture in their county than those depending on direct markets. In additional results from the survey, almost a third felt that equal emphasis should be placed on farmland preservation and farm viability efforts in order to keep farming viable in their county, while approximately the same number felt the priority should be protecting agricultural land from development via growth management policies. The unique characteristics of agriculturally important counties undergoing urbanization pressures pose challenges and opportunities to researchers and developers to recognize and employ the strategies that will help maintain a viable agricultural sector for urban-edge farming. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T05:51:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1a95b004304c4bfab0a494d3a1728121 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2152-0801 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T05:51:11Z |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | Lyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food Systems |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-1a95b004304c4bfab0a494d3a17281212023-09-03T05:04:58ZengLyson Center for Civic Agriculture and Food SystemsJournal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development2152-08012016-10-011210.5304/jafscd.2010.012.00326The Future of Farming on the Urban Edge: Insights from 15 U.S. Counties about Farmland Protection and Farm ViabilityLydia Oberholtzer0Kate Clancy1J. Dixon Esseks2The Pennsylvania State UniversityFood Systems ConsultantUniversity of Nebraska at LincolnFarmland protection and farm viability are two important aspects of urban-edge farming. Surveys of landowners and informant interviews were completed between 2005 and 2007 in 15 U.S. counties to examine the opportunities and constraints that farmers face in these areas. Landowners’ perceptions about the future outlook for their county’s agriculture varied greatly. Many operators in counties producing long-established crops, such as corn and soybeans, rely heavily on wholesale markets for sales. In other counties, farmers depend on a mix of wholesale and direct markets. Study results show that over half the respondents relying on direct markets operate small acreage farms with low gross agricultural sales. Operators using primarily wholesale markets tended to be more optimistic about the profitability and accessibility of their markets and the outlook for agriculture in their county than those depending on direct markets. In additional results from the survey, almost a third felt that equal emphasis should be placed on farmland preservation and farm viability efforts in order to keep farming viable in their county, while approximately the same number felt the priority should be protecting agricultural land from development via growth management policies. The unique characteristics of agriculturally important counties undergoing urbanization pressures pose challenges and opportunities to researchers and developers to recognize and employ the strategies that will help maintain a viable agricultural sector for urban-edge farming.https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/26Agricultural MarketingFarm ViabilityFarmland ProtectionLandowner SurveySuccession |
| spellingShingle | Lydia Oberholtzer Kate Clancy J. Dixon Esseks The Future of Farming on the Urban Edge: Insights from 15 U.S. Counties about Farmland Protection and Farm Viability Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Agricultural Marketing Farm Viability Farmland Protection Landowner Survey Succession |
| title | The Future of Farming on the Urban Edge: Insights from 15 U.S. Counties about Farmland Protection and Farm Viability |
| title_full | The Future of Farming on the Urban Edge: Insights from 15 U.S. Counties about Farmland Protection and Farm Viability |
| title_fullStr | The Future of Farming on the Urban Edge: Insights from 15 U.S. Counties about Farmland Protection and Farm Viability |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Future of Farming on the Urban Edge: Insights from 15 U.S. Counties about Farmland Protection and Farm Viability |
| title_short | The Future of Farming on the Urban Edge: Insights from 15 U.S. Counties about Farmland Protection and Farm Viability |
| title_sort | future of farming on the urban edge insights from 15 u s counties about farmland protection and farm viability |
| topic | Agricultural Marketing Farm Viability Farmland Protection Landowner Survey Succession |
| url | https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/26 |
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