Saving farms and ranches is a sound investment in economic development and community infrastructure. Agriculture provides jobs on and off the farm, generates sales and attracts tourists. In addition, privately owned agricultural land generates more in local tax revenue than it costs in public services. Communities are finding that they cannot afford the price of unplanned development or the conversion of productive land—both of which can weaken a community’s bottom line and destroy its character.

American Farmland Trust will analyze data and create the messages you need to prove that saving farms and ranches provides fiscal and economic benefits to your community. This information can help you raise awareness about the importance of working land, build support for funding a farmland protection program, write a plan for agriculture, defend farm-friendly tax policies and much more.

our products and services

Cost of Community Services (COCS) studies: AFT’s nationally acclaimed COCS studies provide a snapshot in time of current revenues and expenditures on a land use basis. COCS studies analyze the demands on public services (e.g., schools, fire protection and road maintenance) and show how much it costs to provide public services to each land use in your community (e.g., residential, commercial and farmland). The study will give you the benefit of hindsight to see the fiscal effects of current development patterns. Unlike typical fiscal impact studies, COCS studies evaluate working land on equal ground with development. AFT conducts COCS studies at various governmental levels.

Agricultural industry profile (AIP): AFT compiles and analyzes economic, demographic and other data about the agricultural industry in order to evaluate trends, assess the industry’s importance in the community and describe its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. We analyze primary and secondary impacts, in addition to such information as the age of farmers and number of farms and acres protected. We have a formal process to “ground truth” the data with local experts to ensure its accuracy and relevance, and we can present the final information in a variety of easy-to-read, useful formats, depending on your needs.

Analysis of the benefits of protected land: AFT can analyze the full range of benefits associated with purchasing easements, which can help you defend the public cost of a purchase of development rights (PDR) program. The analysis will identify the financial benefits, under various investment scenarios, to agricultural landowners who protect their land; benefits to people who live adjacent to protected land; scenic, recreational and wildlife habitat values; and costs avoided from the erosion of soil during development. These factors are assessed within the context of the local economy and environment.

Analysis of protection versus development: AFT can compare the fiscal impact of residential development on a selected agricultural parcel against the cost of protecting that parcel. Through a review and analysis of local service costs, assessed property values and zoning, we assess the future costs to the taxpayer over a selected number of years. Such variables as development densities, housing values and time periods also can be compared to guide local decision makers.

For more information on AFT's services, contact Jane Kirchner at 202-378-1231 or jkirchner@farmland.org.