A New Milestone in Farmland Protection: 5,000 Acres in Less Than 60 Days!

Q. With limited resources and the high cost of land, how do you protect 5,000 acres of farmland in less than 60 days?

A. FarmAbility!

"I’ve always been a supporter of the Leelanau Conservancy and efforts to preserve farmland in Leelanau County,” said Leelanau farmer, Keith Parker. “The people who thought up this program are definitely on the right track!”

Regular readers of the Conservancy’s newsletter will recall the recent launch of our new FarmAbility Program, devised with the help of Conservancy Board Member Jim Nugent, who is the former Director of the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station, as well as freshman State Representative from Leelanau County, Dan Scripps. The effort was the culmination of more than two years of research and coordination with local farmers and our partners—the Leelanau Conservation District, Michigan State University Extension and the Horticultural Research Station. It is the first privately-run program of its kind in the U.S. and offers non-governmental financial incentives to family farmers in return for signing a binding agreement to farm their lands for a 10-year period. These incentives include per-acre cash payments and cost-sharing for workshops designed to enhance profitability as well as estate planning to assist in transferring these farms to the next generation of farmers. The program also gives the Conservancy a right of first refusal if a farm enrolled in the program goes up for sale.

Resounding Success

The response has been nothing short of tremendous. It took just a few short weeks to surpass our goal by signing up 5,078 acres of family farms to 10-year conservation agreements. And, it is our intention to continue the FarmAbility Program by enrolling an additional 10,000 acres by 2013. It should be underscored that the overarching goal of our Farmland Preservation Program is and always will be the permanent protection of the land-based agricultural resource for future generations. In the interim, helping to keep family farms in production through 2019-2023 will enable everyone who cares about farming—farm families, citizens, scholars and legislators alike—some breathing space in which to craft new and innovative methods to ensure that Leelanau County farms are permanently protected in the coming years. ”There is no question in my mind that momentum to protect farmland is building at all levels,” said Tom Nelson, the Conservancy’s Director of Farm Programs. “Whether it be for local food production or food security nationwide, funding levels for farmland preservation are slated to grow in the coming years at the state and federal levels.”

Various farmers have observed that FarmAbility, with its custom-made approach, matches the uniqueness of agriculture on our peninsula. As farmer Mark Drake says, “We have some very unique farmland with the soil and the climate and the water that we have around us. I think it’s really critical that we protect what farmland we have left here for future generations. You just can’t make farmland like this anywhere.”

The 5,078 acres of family-owned farmland include farms as large as the 440-acre Olsen Farm in Cleveland Township’s lovely Bohemian Valley, to the fourth generation, 115-acre cherry farm operated by the Frederickson Family in northern Leelanau Township, to the historic 10-acre Cherry Basket Farm—a specialty farm just north of the village of Omena.

Rob Sirrine, Director of Leelanau’s MSU Extension says, “Revenue and funding levels are down in so many areas of agriculture, but this is a real ‘win-win’ for both the ag community and everyone in the county.” County Commissioner Melinda Lautner, who with her husband Jim, farm 273 acres neighboring the Keith Parker Farm, whole-heartedly agrees. “The folks from the Leelanau Conservancy really made a good faith effort to ask farmers like us what kind of program we’d actually get behind – and then they came up with a program that we could support.”

Meanwhile, the “ink” on the FarmAbility Program has been tremendous as well. In an editorial last month, The Leelanau Enterprise said, “The program’s design has been a resounding success. To [the Conservancy’s] credit, they found a new way to get the job done.” We’re also pleased to report interest is growing to replicate the program in other important agricultural areas of the state. For everyone who loves the farms of Leelanau County: Stay tuned!