Planning for Agriculture

American Farmland Trust (AFT) believes that working farms and farmland are as important to communities as other land uses, so we must plan to ensure their future. Planning for agriculture creates a framework to protect and retain agricultural land, promote sound environmental stewardship of agricultural land, and sustain agricultural viability for current and future generations.

AFT has worked across the country to help communities realize their goals and give farmers a voice in planning processes. In more than 50 plans across the country, we have helped states and communities create the vision, road map, policies, and public investments needed to respond to market demands, support resilient food systems, balance the needs for renewable energy, and attract a diverse new generation of sustainable farmers and ranchers. 

View recent presentations from AFT staff on different aspects of planning for ag. Learn more about our ground-breaking findings in the recent publication Farms Under Threat: The State of the States, where we identify and map Low-Density Residential land use- which compromises ag viability. Additionally, we analyze policy tools that states have for protecting farmland and highlight promising approaches.