Desperately Seeking Farmland

Why the biggest barrier to farming isn’t one

How do I get land to farm?

This question continues to obsess the farming industry and those who turn to it for guidance on how to get started.

Here’s a better question:

How much land do I need to farm?

The answer: Not much.

Here’s the age-old dilemma that has led to the decline of small family farms over the last century:

The high population areas where good markets exist put the price of land out of reach for new farmers. Rural areas, where land is affordable, has less access to markets that can support a business.

Here’s the non-solutions that have been tried over the years.

Farmland preservation groups and land trusts have worked to bring new farmers back to the land, but that has only perpetuated the disconnect between where food is grown and where it is consumed. New land policies have been put in place to curb urban sprawl, but population patterns and development continue to encroach on farmland. Farmers continue to be forced out due to conflicts over their farming practices.

The pandemic has brought a reckoning of sorts by pointing up the importance of having a local and regional food supply. At a practical level this means confronting these simple questions:

— Is whatever farmland that’s left on the edge of suburbia best filled with concrete, asphalt and rooftop? Or is it the manufacturing floor upon which farm businesses and a new agricultural economy will be built?

— Is urban farming going to continue to be an add-on to community gardening to deliver just feel good social benefits? Or will it be developed as an opportunity for owner/operated farms as cornerstones for food-centered neighborhood economic development?

Zoning codes exist to deal with incompatible land uses. With local food and farming become more of a desirable use, many of these codes are proving outdated. This is especially true in cities, where the mantra has long been “best and highest use” that favors high density development. Establishing ways to make it easier for beginning urban farmers to grow and sell food is starting to make its way onto city planning agendas, including:

— making vacant land available for production
— using the city’s economic development process to make loans to, and otherwise encourage, farm businesses
— lightening zoning rules to assist neighborhood-level agricultural enterprises
— revising government food-purchasing policies to favor buying from local growers.

Local governments are also starting to recognize that a local farming industry can deliver a significant economic impact if even a small percent of grocery dollars are redirected to city-based farms and food businesses. In Wichita KS, City Manager Robert Layton estimates local food dollars are worth $80 million in economic development, growth and income. Will city governments start acting on this type of opportunity?

The basic tenet of SPIN-Farming is reducing the amount of land needed for commercial crop production. Think in terms of backyards, community garden plots, vacant lots.

For farmers there are practical advantages to keeping a farm small, especially those just starting out. First, land needs to be made operational. A big land base requires spending money and effort in breaking the land, conditioning the soil, setting up some type of watering system and possibly fencing. Expensive equipment may be needed to work it. Extensive labor is needed to maintain it, and earn an income off of it.

Keeping a land base small minimizes the need for outside labor, which is a farmer’s main expense. An owner/operated farm can carry on the traditional practice of tapping into an informal network of family and friends to fulfill peak labor needs. The billion dollar local food industry can now support the level of incomes needed to make these small plot farms financially worthwhile.

Don’t get hung up on how much real estate you need to start or support a farm business. Instead, identify a market and focus on earning income from whatever size plot you have, or can find. Once you’ve established your growing and operational systems and customer base, and know you have the business to support a bigger operation, then you can expand with a clear idea of just how much more land you need and where, and just how much revenue you can get out of it once you get it.

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Buying an Urban Farm

SPIN stands for s-mall p-lot in-tensive.
SPIN Farming is a commercial production system designed specifically for growing spaces under an acre in size. It was developed in the mid-90’s by Canadian farmer Wally Satzewich. Those who practice it use gardens, community plots and vacant land to start and operate moneymaking farm businesses that serve the needs of local communities.