Farm & Ranchland Conservation 

To bolster western Montana's ability to eat close to home, protecting the land that feeds us has never been more important, or more urgent.  While growing markets for local foods and helping beginning farmers access agricultural land, CFAC is also working to comprehensively conserve the lands most viable for farming & ranching in a way that respects the interests of landowners and provides predictability to developers, planners, policy makers, and residents.

To find solutions to farm and ranchland conservation, CFAC is doing the following activities:

• Reviewing & commenting on subdivision proposals and their potential impacts to agriculture.
• Inventorying the lands most viable for farming and ranching.
• Working to secure conservation tools that will comprehensively protect the agricultural landscape.

Subdivision Review 

So far this year, CFAC has testified on 19 subdivision proposals slated to convert farm and ranchland in Missoula County to residential uses.  On six subdivisions, CFAC recommended that the impacts to agriculture were minimal.  On another six, we offered specific observations regarding potential impacts to farming and ranching and suggestions for ways to avoid or mitigate those impacts, but did not recommend denial or approval of the subdivision itself.  On seven of the 19 subdivisions, we recommended denial of the proposal because the development's design would have to be entirely re-done (or not done at all) to avoid compromising our agricultural legacy and community food security. 

As a result of CFAC's written testimonies and public comments:

• Two subdivisions were outright rejected--the first time in Montana state history a subdivision proposal has been denied based on the loss of farmland.
• Two more subdivisions were required to mitigate the loss of fertile ground by permanently protecting farmland outside of the developed area--thus conserving over 200 acres of farmland without taxpayer dollars.
• Two more subdivisions were re-designed to include substantial community gardens.

More importantly, our comments have illuminated the importance of conserving our remaining farm and ranchlands.  We have all learned a lot in 2008, and we know that we cannot comprehensively protect the agricultural landscape as a matrix of working farms and ranches through reviewing individual subdivisions, proposal by proposal.  This piecemeal approach is also highly risky and unpredictable for developers, planners, elected officials, and eaters.

Inventory of Agricultural Lands

CFAC has begun laying the groundwork for a County-wide inventory the the lands most viable for farming and ranching.  The inventory of agricultural lands will identify and prioritize the parcels with the most potential for farming and ranching.  No inventory evaluating the current status of agricultural lands exists, so we do not know which properties remain in good quality, where they are, and how they fit into the larger agricultural landscape.  This data will help inform communities, planners, and elected officials about which types of conservation strategies will most effectively protect the most important farm and ranchlands.

Farmland Trends in Missoula County:

• Agriculture is important to our economy: Missoula County producers sell $8,361,000 worth of agricultural products, annually. Missoula County residents eat much more than that, providing lots of room to grow.
• Missoula County is losing its farm and ranchlands: Between 1960 and 2000, the County's population increased 114%. Meanwhile, the acres in agricultural production decreased 34%.  From 1990 to 2005, 15,660 acres were subdivided, most of which was outside the city limits of Missoula.
• Sprawl unnecessarily threatens the future of farming and ranching: The amount of residential land each person takes up has more than doubled since 1970.  The average new residential lot in Missoula County is now 2.2 acres.

Farmland Trends across the U.S.:

• Will time run out on some of the world's most productive lands?  America loses two acres of farmland every minute. From 1992 to 1997, more than 6 million acres of agricultural land-an area the size of Maryland-were irreversibly converted to non-farming uses.
• Fertile (flat) land is more likely to grow houses than marginal soils:  The U.S. is developing the most fertile and productive land 30% faster than unproductive land.
• Farms that grow for local markets carry the greatest development pressures:  86% of U.S. fruits and vegetables, 63% of dairy products, 39% of meat products, and 35% of grains are produced in urban-influenced areas, right in the path of development.