Holding Our Ground: Protecting America's Farms And Farmland [Paperback]

Deborah Bowers (Author), Tom Daniels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1997 | ISBN-10: 1559634820 | ISBN-13: 978-1559634823 | Edition: 1

Farmers, who own or rent most of the private land in America, hold the key not only to the nation's food supply, but also to managing community growth, maintaining an attractive landscape, and protecting water and wildlife resources.While the issue of protecting farmland and open space is not new, the intensity of the challenge has increased. Farmers are harder pressed to make a living, and rural and suburban communities are struggling to accommodate increasing populations and the development that comes with them. "Holding Our Ground" can help landowners and communities devise and implement effective strategies for protecting farmland. The book: discusses the reasons for protecting farmland and how to make those reasons widely known and understood describes the business of farming, federal government farm programs, and the role of land in farmers's decisions analyzes federal, state, and local farmland protection efforts and techniques explores a variety of land protection options including purchase of development rights; transfer of development rights; private land trusts; and financial, tax, and estate planning reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the farmland protection tools available The authors describe the many challenges involved in protecting farmland and explain how to create a package of techniques that can meet those challenges. In addition, they offer appendixes with model zoning ordinances, nuisance disclaimers, conservation easements, and other documents that individuals and communities need to carry out the programs discussed."Holding Our Ground" provides citizens, elected officials, planners, and landowners with a solid basis for understanding the issues behindfarmland protection, and will be an invaluable resource in developing techniques and programs for achieving long-term protection goals.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Island Press; 1 edition (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559634820
• ISBN-13: 978-1559634823
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,187,302 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #8 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Urban Planning & Development > Rural Planning
  • #84 in Books > Law > Administrative Law > Land Use

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Daniels Describes Basics of Preserving AG Land, October 11, 2000

By 

James D. Holland, AICP (Salina, KS USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Holding Our Ground: Protecting America's Farms And Farmland (Paperback)

Tom Daniels provides this concise yet detailed description of several land use based agriculture preservation tools including, TDR's, PDR's, conservation easements, ag zoning, urban growth boundaries, and local right-to-farm laws. There are model documents provided in the appendices which give a detailed view of specific preservation measures.

As a county planner, I found this book provided me with a basis of knowledge to promote responsible land use decisions in my county. This book should be national standard reading for land use professionals.