News
Farmland disappearance linked to low-density housing
The American Farmland Trust says U.S. farmland is disappearing at an alarming rate. A new report by that group says that in a twenty-year period ending in 2012, more than 30 million acres of farmland were lost. That’s equal to all the farmland in Iowa. Trust research director Ann Sorensen says some of the problem is low density housing.
“That’s a house on one acre, or two acres, or even a larger house that plops down in the middle of agricultural land,” Sorensen told Brownfield Ag News Wednesday.
Development has disproportionately occurred on some of the country’s best farmland, said Sorensen.
“As our cities expand, as our suburbs spread out,” said Sorensen, “they tend to come right up against really good agricultural land.”
In spite of steep losses of farmland indicated in the report, Sorensen says data shows some farmland protection policies are working, but she says more analysis needs to be done.
AUDIO: Ann Sorensen (10 min. MP3)
When your allow millions upon millions of people to immigrate to your country what can you expect to happen – the need for housing explodes!