Land availability still concerns young farmers, ranchers

Securing adequate land to grow crops and raise livestock, government regulations and red tape, availability of farm labor and related regulations, water availability and urbanization of farm land are among the top concerns of young farmers and ranchers.
Securing adequate land to grow crops and raise livestock was the top challenge identified in the American Farm Bureau Federation's (AFBF) annual outlook survey of participants in the Young Farmers & Ranchers program, as reported by the AFBF. The issue was also the top challenge cited in last year's survey.
The challenge was identified by 22 percent of respondents, ages 18-35, followed by economic challenges, particularly profitability, which was identified by 15 percent of the respondents.
"For young people today, securing adequate land to begin farming or expand an established farm or ranch is a major challenge," said Jake Carter, AFBF's national Young Farmers & Ranchers committee chair and a farmer from Georgia. "Another major challenge is figuring out how to excel -- not just survive -- in today's economy," he added.
Optimism, despite concerns
Other issues that ranked as top concerns in the annual survey included government regulations and red tape (12 percent); availability of farm labor and related regulations (9 percent); water availability and urbanization of farm land (7 percent each); and health care availability and cost (6 percent).
The 2014 survey revealed that 91 percent of the nation's young farmers and ranchers are more optimistic about farming and ranching than they were five years ago. Last year, 90 percent of those surveyed said they were more optimistic about farming compared to five years ago.
The survey also showed that America's young farmers and ranchers are committed environmental caretakers, with 55 percent using conservation tillage to protect soil and reduce erosion on their farms.
The future of farming
In a new question on the survey this year, the young farmers and ranchers were asked about their rural entrepreneurship efforts, with 40 percent reporting they had started a new business in the last three years or plan to start one in the near future.
Additionally, more than 91 percent of respondents considered themselves lifetime farmers, with 88 percent hoping to see their children follow in their footsteps.
The survey results were compiled following the AFBF's 2014 Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference in Virginia Beach, Va., in February.

Ag groups lobby for removing prime farmland from conservation reserve program

Congress should include legislative language as part of the 2012 farm bill that mandates the removal of millions of acres of “prime farmland” from the Conservation Reserve Program, according to a study conducted for the National Grain and Feed Foundation by Strategic Conservation Solutions LLC.
According to the study, "ReGaining Ground — A Conservation Reserve Program Right-Sized for the Times," as recently as 2007 (the most recent data publicly available) up to 8.7 million acres that the U.S. Department of Agriculture considers to be prime farmland were idled under 10- to 15-year Conservation Reserve Program contracts. The study recognized some prime farmland currently enrolled in the program as part of filter strips, grassed waterways and other highly-sensitive acres eligible for continuous signup in the program, that likely would remain idled. “But with CRP contracts that include more than 70 percent of the acreage enrolled — 21.2 million acres — set to expire over the next five years, there is an urgent need to manage the program so that the most productive land from the reserve is returned to production,” said the study.
The study suggests reducing the Conservation Reserve Program cap by phasing out existing enrollment and banning new enrollment of most prime farmland. It also includes several other legislative recommendations:

• Escalate the schedule for drawing down the program cap to coincide with the schedule for program contract expirations.
• Limit whole-field and whole-farm enrollments in the program by requiring such land to meet a more stringent environmental benefits index scoring threshold than partial-field enrollments.
• Mandate that the USDA offer program-contract holders a penalty-free early out as a means of reducing enrollments of prime farmland.
• Allocate sufficient funds to at least triple (to $75 million) the size of the Conservation Reserve Program Transition Incentives Program, which is designed to encourage retired or retiring landowners to transition eligible program land for production to beginning or socially disadvantaged farmers.
• Consider designating a specific percentage- or acreage-based figure within the program for future enrollment of the most environmentally sensitive land.
• Restrict the USDA’s discretion to exceed the current 25-percent acreage limit on program enrollments in individual counties because of the adverse economic impacts such enrollments have had on rural communities.

Biofuel production may not cause indirect land use change

The annual change in planted areas for cotton, corn/soybeans and oats in the U.S. correlate with the change in croplands for biofuel production, but only cotton seems to be negatively affected, calling into question the theory that biofuel production in the U.S. has induced indirect land use change.
A new study, "Indirect land use change for biofuels: Testing predictions and improving analytical methodologies," compiled historical data from 2002 to 2007 to take a look at the potential correlation between U.S. biofuel production and indirect land use change. The study found that "no arable land increases from the 1990s are observed in the U.S. Furthermore, no declines in natural ecosystem lands in the U.S. have been observed since 1998. Therefore, the U.S. historical data do not indicate that [indirect land use change] occurred within the 48 contiguous states as a result of U.S. biofuel production."
However, said study preparers Seungdo Kim and Bruce Dale of Michigan State University, the results can be interpreted two different ways: either biofuel production in the U.S. through the end of 2007 has not induced indirect land use change, or the test simply failed to detect ongoing indirect land use change from the historical data. The study suggests that more research be done, both with data after 2007 (which is not yet available) and with more sophisticated empirical approaches that might more accurately make use of the historical data.

National Resources Inventory: 23 million acres of US agricultural land lost between 1982 and 2007

The most recent National Resources Inventory, a survey of U.S. non-federal lands conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, has revealed that every state lost agricultural land to development between 1982 and 2007 — more than 23 million acres in all.
According to the survey, the five states to lose the most land were Texas, California, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina. The states that developed the largest percentage of their land were New Jersey (26.8%), Rhode Island (22.5%), Massachusetts (18.1%), Delaware (14.3%) and New Hampshire (13.2%). Further, 44% more of the land converted was considered prime agricultural land than not, raising concerns among experts. "Many of the numbers from the NRI that we’ve analyzed are sobering,” said Jon Scholl, president of American Farmland Trust.
Still, said Scholl, there are a few bright spots, such as a decline in the nationwide rate of farmland loss over the 25-year reporting period, despite a booming housing market during portions of that timeframe. “This overall decline is likely due to smart growth policies that encourage more efficient development,” said Julia Freedgood, AFT's managing director of farmland protection. “The NRI data show that the threat to our agricultural resources is real. But we were heartened to find that policies to encourage more efficient development work — slowing farmland loss and buying time. Smart growth coupled with permanent farmland protection programs ensures that in the face of growth agricultural land will be available to produce food for our nation and a growing world population.”

American Farmland Trust releases PACE statistics

American Farmland Trust (AFT)'s Farmland Information Center has released its annual statistics on state-level purchases of agricultural conservation easement (PACE) programs. 
A survey of 26 states found that the states acquired 7% more easements and protected 7% more acres in 2009 than in 2008, in spite of spending 30% less in 2009 than in the previous year. The lowered cost is likely due to decreases in land values.
2010-2011 projections indicate that states may be forced to accomplish more with less, as the economic downturn and state budget shortfalls have resulted in reduced farmland protection funding. "I'm pleased to see states forging ahead, but the funding reductions are frustrating," said Julia Freegood, AFT's managing director for farmland and communities. "This is a critical time to invest in farmland protection while land is relatively inexpensive because it is a strategic long-term investment in rural communities. PACE programs not only secure the agricultural land base, they support local economic activity."
As of January 2010, 25 states have active state-level PACE programs.