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Before retiring in 2016, Bob Wagner had devoted his professional career to advocating for the protection of farmland and farming opportunities. Beginning in 1981 as a consultant to the Vermont Department of Agriculture, a legislative assistant to then-Congressman James Jeffords of Vermont and then 31 years with the national non-profit American Farmland Trust (AFT), Bob played an active role in the promotion and development of state and local farmland protection strategies and programs throughout the country. Bob made presentations across the country at local, state, regional and national forums, meetings and conferences on the importance of local agriculture and the variety of tools and techniques used by communities to protect agricultural resources and promote farming. He represented AFT in the development of farm and ranch land protection programs and legislation in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Vermont, Kentucky, New York, Hawaii, Texas, Wisconsin and Ohio. Bob co-authored a number of publications and studies including, Investing in the Future of Agriculture: The Massachusetts Farmland Protection Program and the Permanence Syndrome, and was a contributing writer to AFT’s national guidebook, Saving American Farmland: What Works. Bob holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Bucknell University and a Masters of Science in Natural Resources Planning from the University of Vermont. Bob continues to consult with organizations dedicated to promoting farmland protection and farming opportunities in regions of the country experiencing non-farm development pressures including American Farmland Trust, Land for Good and Equity Trust. Bob lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts where he is currently the Chair of the town’s Agricultural Advisory Commission, Community Preservation Committee and Planning Board.