Farmlands Best Suited for Preservation by SSCFLT
SSCFLT seeks farms that will produce food for our region, now and in the future. SSCFLT evaluates each property for possible agricultural conservation easement or purchase using the following criteria:
Current Farm Status: Farmland that is currently or quite recently farmed using the type of infrastructure needed for growing food products such as row crops, orchards, livestock etc.is desirable (water/irrigation, workspaces, storage, electricity for refrigeration, etc).
Soils: Most of the land should be of prime agricultural soils, consisting primarily of tillable acreage or pasture.
Size: In general, we are interested in properties that are 20 acres or more in size. When we look at larger than average farms, it is likely we will lease them to more than one farmer. Thus we would be interested in infrastructure that could be divided or shared. We will consider properties less than 20 acres in size in special circumstances.
Water rights: Land with active water rights provides greater flexibility for food production and is of special interest to us.
Near the urban/suburban fringe: Farms just outside the urban growth area that are at highest risk of future development or face other threats to continued farm use can be considered, although affordability and funding may be a challenge.
Sustainable agricultural practices: We welcome conversations with actively farming families who would like to see their farm continue as working farmland forever. We work with landowners who want to see sustainable agricultural practices on their protected land.
Approved by the SSCFLT Board of Directors
December 14, 2015
Current Farm Status: Farmland that is currently or quite recently farmed using the type of infrastructure needed for growing food products such as row crops, orchards, livestock etc.is desirable (water/irrigation, workspaces, storage, electricity for refrigeration, etc).
Soils: Most of the land should be of prime agricultural soils, consisting primarily of tillable acreage or pasture.
Size: In general, we are interested in properties that are 20 acres or more in size. When we look at larger than average farms, it is likely we will lease them to more than one farmer. Thus we would be interested in infrastructure that could be divided or shared. We will consider properties less than 20 acres in size in special circumstances.
Water rights: Land with active water rights provides greater flexibility for food production and is of special interest to us.
Near the urban/suburban fringe: Farms just outside the urban growth area that are at highest risk of future development or face other threats to continued farm use can be considered, although affordability and funding may be a challenge.
Sustainable agricultural practices: We welcome conversations with actively farming families who would like to see their farm continue as working farmland forever. We work with landowners who want to see sustainable agricultural practices on their protected land.
Approved by the SSCFLT Board of Directors
December 14, 2015