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Key Findings

1. Natural declines in farmland are used to justify excessive, unnecessary land-use regulations that are harmful to local economies and farm families.
2. Pierce County and other areas of Washington cite disappearing farmland as evidence to support restrictive policies like the Growth Management Act. However, land-use regulations like GMA are not effective or necessary.
3. Land-use regulations prioritize acreage over farmers, encouraging policies that save land without understanding the implications of excessive regulatory burdens on farm viability.
4. Land ownership is the primary risk management tool available to farm families in managing their farm operations. Land-use planning laws remove the land’s value from farm families.
5. From 2007-2012, cropland experienced a net increase of four million acres, with the majority converted from the federal government’s Conservation Reserve Program. The majority of acreage removed from cropland was converted to pasture, not development.
6. Land-use controls in Oregon, Kentucky, and Florida illustrate the excessiveness and pointless existence of such programs. Local solutions with local input can do more to effectively protect community interests. 

Introduction

Some in Pierce County, Washington are troubled by the gradual decline in agricultural land and politicians are responding with calls for more stringent farmland protection. These calls, however, are unwarranted and regulations designed to protect farmland often end up harming local economies while doing little to improve agricultural viability.

As concerns over farmland escalate, and state regulatory pressure builds, adoption of additional land-use planning laws and regulations may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, actually making it more difficult for local farmers. This study examines the background behind land-use planning, Pierce County’s farmland situation, statistics and trends regarding disappearing farmland, best – and worst – management practices from other states, and policy recommendations to protect Washington’s agricultural land. 

Click here to read the shortened Policy Note on this subject.

 Download the full Policy Brief.