NW Michigan Food and Farming Network Report to the Community 2015 Report to the Community | Page 64

Food and Farming network

Farmland Protection: It Works!
Working farms
support local economy
By Brian Bourdages
Acme Township and the Grand
Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
America’s farmland continues to
be in jeopardy. And here in Michigan, the west Michigan fruit belt is
one of the nation’s most threatened
agricultural resources.
Family farms are dwindling, and
as older farmers retire, they may be
tempted to sell their property for
development. Once developed, that
open space is gone forever—not to
be used for farming, provide habitat
for wildlife or offer scenic views.
Yet despite the growing endangerment of farmland at the national
and state level, a new path is being forged right here in northwest
Michigan.
The work in Acme Township is of
particular significance because the
protected farmland is surrounded
by hundreds of acres of preserved
natural areas. This massive amount
of protected land in Acme adds to
the scenic quality of the countryside,
provides sanctuary for wildlife, and
safeguards our water quality.
Conservation efforts have been
boosted by Acme Township’s farmland protection activities made possible by a 2004 millage, which created
the Farmland Protection Program.
Millage dollars, along with significant matching grants, were used over
the past decade to purchase ap-

The Farmland Protection Program preserves familiy farms by encouraging multigeneration farm families to keep working the land. (Photo: Gary Howe)

proximately 810 acres of agricultural
conservation easements from local
farm families. On Nov. 4, 2014,
Acme residents headed to the polls
and passed a millage to renew the
program for an additional 10 years.
Since 2004, Grand Traverse
Regional Land Conservancy helped
Acme Township secure an additional
$2.5 million, which matched funds
from the original millage almost dollar for dollar.
Now that the Acme Township
millage is renewed, GTRLC will assist the township in applications for
funding, with the opportunity to access from ACEP and other Farm Bill
programs an estimated $4.2 million
toward farmland protection in Acme.
Agriculture will remain a viable,
long-term economic engine for
northwest Michigan—if there is a
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firm foundation of farmland that has
already been preserved.
When enough land is protected in
a given area, support mechanisms for
agricultural tend to stay, encouraging
more growth activities, like building
or refurbishing production plants or
planting new orchards.
With this level of regional success,
others are watching. Our goal is for
the success in Leelanau County, on
the Old Mission Peninsula, and in
Acme to extend out to other townships and into Antrim County. At the
state level, organizations are coming
together to make revisions to state
and local land use policies to preserve
farmland and blend protection with
farm viability programs. Momentum
is growing around farmland protection throughout Michigan.
www.gtrlc.org