c
 






 




 

Indeed! Some people who will never farm could have a pivotal role in
advancing the sustainability of farming. I'm not talking about urban
farming or consumer choices ("Sustainable", "Organic", "local"«). I'm
talking about land ownership and rental contracts.

 
 

In spite of what you hear, ³family farms´ are still the overwhelming way
that US agriculture happens. Many of these farms are large, but I¶ve had
the opportunity to sit down with farmers who tend 5-15,000 acres, and
their ³office´ is typically the kitchen table or an old desk in the corner of the
barn. These are still definitely "family farms" and they still dominate the
hundreds of millions of acres of ³row crops´ (wheat, barley, corn, soy,
sunflower«) that make up 90+ percent of US farmland.


 
!
  
"
! 




That said, these growers don¶t typically own all or even most of the land
they farm. Almost 40% of all US cropland is rented and the percentage is
much higher in the most productive areas like the ³Corn Belt,´ the Red
River Valley, and irrigated land. (see map)

Over the last 100 years there has been a steady movement of people from
farming to other careers and usually to urban centers. We now have less
than 1% of our population directly involved in farming. Still, much of our
farmland is owned by the descendents of the people who were once our
farmers. The remaining farmers rent that land. There is nothing
intrinsically bad about this. It is an efficient market , and 'cash rents" are
the best measure of the agricultural value of a piece of land. For a farmer to
expand by buying land is risky because of the ups and downs of commodity
and energy-related prices. Renting is the most flexible alternative and the
only one for a young farmer that didn¶t inherit land.

Ë #


$  





It comes down to the same owner/renter dynamic we see in other markets.
Everyone understands that if you rent a house or apartment, you don't
make long-term investments in the property that you don't expect to be
able to enjoy. Similarly, you can be an extremely ³responsible renter´ of
agricultural land, but to pursue the very most sustainable form of farming
just does not make economic sense on rented land. Here is why.


 








Truly sustainable farming is all about a long-term investment in the quality
of soil. It¶s about building soils that won¶t erode with rain and wind. It¶s
about building soils that are very good at capturing rainfall and storing it in
a way that will be available to the crop. Sustainable farming is about
³feeding´ the diverse living community that lives in a healthy soil and
making sure that it can ³breath´ by avoiding the ³compression´ that can
come from use of heavy equipment. This is a kind of farming that
incorporates some of the best soil-care orientation of "Organic," but which
achieves that without some of the negative constraints of that
philosophically-based system.

When a field is cared for this way for several years, it becomes more
productive overall. It is also less affected by drought - giving good yields in
years when other fields fail. Fields managed this way are also excellent
from an environmental perspective. They generate little or no sediment,
nutrient or pesticide residue that moves into surface water. These fields
are far less of an issue for ground water contamination. These farm
operations use less energy, and their soils generate less greenhouse gas
emissions. These fields are even sites for net carbon sequestration.



%

 





The problem is that it takes at least a 4-6 year investment of expertise and
money to transition a field to this sustainable status. Along the way there
are very real financial risks. It¶s a wise long-term investment if you own
the land, but if you rent it, it just doesn¶t make good business sense to farm
it that way.

I¶m not saying that farmers don¶t employ sustainable farming methods ±
just that the continuous application of the full suite of best practices is not
that common because of this rental situation. Also, this transition isn¶t
easy and many farmers tried it and became discouraged before all the best
tools were available to make it work.


$c#  &

  

So this brings us back to the ³city dwellers´ who own farm land (or really
anyone else who owns this extremely valuable resource). If someone would
farm the owner¶s property in the best way possible, the owner¶s asset could
become more valuable over time (more crop production potential = higher
rent potential). Fortunately, that economic self-interest coincides with a
farm that is better for humanity (more food), and also far better for the
planet. Unfortunately, that happy, ³sustainable´ combination is all too
rarely achieved.

The non-farmer owner is unlikely to know anything about the practical

details of this kind of farming (no-till methods, cover cropping, precision
variable rate fertilization, advanced genetics, controlled wheel traffic with
sophisticated RTK global positioning technology«). These owners
certainly can¶t tell the renter how to farm, but they could adopt a new
model of farmland leasing with sharing of risk and long-term upsides.
There are groups working on the design of such leases. There needs to be a
way to make it work economically for the farmers that are good at
transitioning lands to super-sustainable status.


' 


We are going to need a lot more food over the next few decades until global
populations level off. We need to find ways to produce that food that are
also better for the planet. Over the last 50 years, a cooperative
public/private research effort coupled with grower innovation has created
the know-how and tools to make that happen. I¶m not saying it is easy, but
it is possible. The people who don¶t farm but who own farmland have an
important roll to play in making this happen. They need to team up with
the most innovative farmers to make a wise investment in their own asset,
and in the future for all of us.

Do you own farmland? Do you know someone who does? I¶d be very
interested to hear from you either by comment here or at
feedback.sdsavage@gmail.com.
Originally posted on ³Red Green and Blue´ Indeed! Some people who will
never farm could have a pivotal role in advancing the sustainability of
farming. I'm not talking about urban farming or consumer choices
("Sustainable", "Organic", "local"«). I'm talking about land ownership and
rental contracts.

 
 

In spite of what you hear, ³family farms´ are still the overwhelming way
that US agriculture happens. Many of these farms are large, but I¶ve had
the opportunity to sit down with farmers who tend 5-15,000 acres, and
their ³office´ is typically the kitchen table or an old desk in the corner of the
barn. These are still definitely "family farms" and they still dominate the
hundreds of millions of acres of ³row crops´ (wheat, barley, corn, soy,
sunflower«) that make up 90+ percent of US farmland.


 
!
  
"
! 




That said, these growers don¶t typically own all or even most of the land
they farm. Almost 40% of all US cropland is rented and the percentage is
much higher in the most productive areas like the ³Corn Belt,´ the Red
River Valley, and irrigated land. (see map below)

Over the last 100 years there has been a steady movement of people from
farming to other careers and usually to urban centers. We now have less
than 1% of our population directly involved in farming. Still, much of our
farmland is owned by the descendents of the people who were once our
farmers. The remaining farmers rent that land. There is nothing
intrinsically bad about this. It is an efficient market , and 'cash rents" are
the best measure of the agricultural value of a piece of land. For a farmer to
expand by buying land is risky because of the ups and downs of commodity
and energy-related prices. Renting is the most flexible alternative and the
only one for a young farmer that didn¶t inherit land.

Ë #


$  





It comes down to the same owner/renter dynamic we see in other markets.
Everyone understands that if you rent a house or apartment, you don't
make long-term investments in the property that you don't expect to be
able to enjoy. Similarly, you can be an extremely ³responsible renter´ of
agricultural land, but to pursue the very most sustainable form of farming
just does not make economic sense on rented land. Here is why.


 








Truly sustainable farming is all about a long-term investment in the quality
of soil. It¶s about building soils that won¶t erode with rain and wind. It¶s
about building soils that are very good at capturing rainfall and storing it in
a way that will be available to the crop. Sustainable farming is about
³feeding´ the diverse living community that lives in a healthy soil and
making sure that it can ³breath´ by avoiding the ³compression´ that can
come from use of heavy equipment. This is a kind of farming that
incorporates some of the best soil-care orientation of "Organic," but which
achieves that without some of the negative constraints of that
philosophically-based system.

When a field is cared for this way for several years, it becomes more
productive overall. It is also less affected by drought - giving good yields in
years when other fields fail. Fields managed this way are also excellent
from an environmental perspective. They generate little or no sediment,
nutrient or pesticide residue that moves into surface water. These fields
are far less of an issue for ground water contamination. These farm
operations use less energy, and their soils generate less greenhouse gas
emissions. These fields are even sites for net carbon sequestration.



%

 





The problem is that it takes at least a 4-6 year investment of expertise and
money to transition a field to this sustainable status. Along the way there
are very real financial risks. It¶s a wise long-term investment if you own
the land, but if you rent it, it just doesn¶t make good business sense to farm
it that way.

I¶m not saying that farmers don¶t employ sustainable farming methods ±
just that the continuous application of the full suite of best practices is not
that common because of this rental situation. Also, this transition isn¶t
easy and many farmers tried it and became discouraged before all the best
tools were available to make it work.


$c#  &

  

So this brings us back to the ³city dwellers´ who own farm land (or really
anyone else who owns this extremely valuable resource). If someone would
farm the owner¶s property in the best way possible, the owner¶s asset could
become more valuable over time (more crop production potential = higher
rent potential). Fortunately, that economic self-interest coincides with a
farm that is better for humanity (more food), and also far better for the
planet. Unfortunately, that happy, ³sustainable´ combination is all too
rarely achieved.

The non-farmer owner is unlikely to know anything about the practical

details of this kind of farming (no-till methods, cover cropping, precision
variable rate fertilization, advanced genetics, controlled wheel traffic with
sophisticated RTK global positioning technology«). These owners
certainly can¶t tell the renter how to farm, but they could adopt a new
model of farmland leasing with sharing of risk and long-term upsides.
There are groups working on the design of such leases. There needs to be a
way to make it work economically for the farmers that are good at
transitioning lands to super-sustainable status.


' 


We are going to need a lot more food over the next few decades until global
populations level off. We need to find ways to produce that food that are
also better for the planet. Over the last 50 years, a cooperative
public/private research effort coupled with grower innovation has created
the know-how and tools to make that happen. I¶m not saying it is easy, but
it is possible. The people who don¶t farm but who own farmland have an
important roll to play in making this happen. They need to team up with
the most innovative farmers to make a wise investment in their own asset,
and in the future for all of us.

Do you own farmland? Do you know someone who does? I¶d be very
interested to hear from you either by comment here or at
feedback.sdsavage@gmail.com.

Originally posted on Dzred green and blue, 9/10/10

http://redgreenandblue.org/2010/09/08/do-non-farmers-have-a-key-role-in-
sustainable-agriculture/