America’s farm
farmland.org
American Farmland Trust is the leading national organization dedicated to saving America’s farm and ranch land, promoting healthy farming practices and supporting farms and farmers. As the vital link among farmers, conservationists and policy-makers, American Farmland Trust is focused on ensuring the availability of fresh food, a healthy environment and strong local economies across the nation.
Since its founding in 1980 by a group of farmers and citizens concerned about the rapid loss of farmland to development, it has helped save millions of acres of farmland from development and led the way for establishing sound environmental practices on millions more.
The benefits of bountiful and protected working lands represent our best bet for a healthy, sustainable future — and our plan to help America guarantee that future through comprehensive stewardship of the nation’s working lands is based on the following key programs:
Farmland Protection
Approximately half of the two billion acres of land in America is working agricultural land. This productive farm and ranch land is a finite resource as fertile soils take thousands of years to develop and are irreplaceable.
The focus of AFT’s work revolves around protecting this precious resource—America’s best farm and ranch land.
Agriculture & Environment
This program targets the following areas:
- Protecting water quality
- Addressing Climate Change
- Finding Solutions
- Implementing Conservation Practices
- Shaping Strong Federal Policies
Growing Local
At farmers’ markets, restaurants, grocery stores, school cafeterias and communities across America, people are searching for healthy food that’s grown on nearby farms. Meeting this demand will take more farms, more farmers and more farmland growing local food. AFT is helping build sustainable food and farming systems to make fresh food from local farms a reality for everyone by:
- Planning for agriculture and sustainable food systems
- Working on the ground for change
- Improving food, farm and land use policies
- Sustaining farms and farmland for our future
- Spreading the ‘No Farms No Food’ ® message
