People often take for granted the seemingly unlimited open space in the United States. Unfortunately, this is becoming harder and harder to do with every day that developers are plowing down farms to build a subdivision in their place. With increasing population growth there is a constant demand for suburban living and Idaho has a remarkably high potential for development. According to professors of human-environmental systems at BSU, “Idaho’s best land for agriculture was 306% times more likely to be converted than any other agricultural land.” (Brandt et al.) Sadly, there is also a huge housing demand. Approximately nineteen people moved to Idaho daily in 2019 and there are even more now (Peacher). This is also causing financial issues for farmers, leading to a cycle that ends up with fewer farms and less food. Considering how vital Idahoan farms are to the country, high housing demand, and financial strain on farmers proves that we need to find a solution to the question, how do we protect our farmland?

           Idahoan farms are some of the most important in the entire continent of North America. Idaho has lots of farms that are phenomenally successful because of our perfect climate and fertile soil. We are so successful that 17% of Idaho’s income is from our food processing and agriculture (“Agriculture in Idaho”). We are the largest onion producers in the country and are among the top three dairy providers (“Idaho Agriculture, Productive and Diverse,” 1:20, 3:06). If Idahoans were to eat all the food our farms produce, according to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, we would eat one-hundred and thirty-seven slices of bread, thirty-eight potatoes, three pounds of sugar, two pounds of cheese, two pounds of beef, and one cup of beans every day (“Agriculture in Idaho”). If that is how much we produce in a single day, imagine how much we would produce in just a month or even a year. The world needs that food because without it,  the world could not function. According to Idaho Preferred, “Idaho produces more than one-hundred and eighty-five different commodities and was ranked among the top ten in the US for the production of more than twenty-five crops and livestock.” (“Idaho Agriculture, Productive and Diverse,” 0:16). If Idaho’s farms cease to exist, who will produce all this food? We need to make a harder effort to protect our food supply, not destroy it, because if we go down, everyone goes down with us. 

The primary cause for farmland loss is the rapidly increasing population growth. The people moving here every day are creating an extremely high demand for housing and cities. This makes cities expand into the supposedly open land that is farmland. According to the US Census Bureau, there was a 17.4% increase in population between 2010 and 2020 (“U.S. Census Bureau quickfacts: Idaho”). That 17.4% population increase meant more people which required a 17.4% increase in housing, shopping centers, grocery stores, etc. All this land is going very quickly and silently. We have lost so much land that if we keep going at this rate, we might not be able to go back. According to professors of Human-Environmental systems at BSU, “Idaho lost sixty-eight thousand, eight-hundred and twenty-three acres of agricultural land to development between 2002 and 2016.” (Brandt et al.). This is due to expanding cities, and even though that does not sound like very much land, that land was some of the best agricultural land in Idaho. We need to find a way to help farmers keep their land so that there is a constant food supply.

Part of why this has gone this far is because of the financial strain that many farmers face. According to the American Farmland Trust, the average age of a farmer is fifty-eight (“Bringing the "No Farms, No Food" Message to the Pacific Northwest,” 0:28). This is a problem because as these older people retire, they cannot afford to keep their land, let their children inherit, or even sell it to another farmer. The only obvious choice they have is to sell it to the developers because they are the only ones that can afford it. “Those developers got some money, and they come to those farmers and say, “Hey, I’ll pay you a boatload of money for this farm’” (Peacher, Amanda). Demand for housing is putting more stress on farmers to give up their land. This strain is shared as one will sell, then the others must pick up the slack. This puts them in the same situation where they must sell. It is not only a problem that land is in high demand, but farmers cannot put up with the pressure being put on them.

One solution is a conservation easement.

“There is something called a conservation easement that essentially gives up the development rights to land and puts them in the hands of the government or a private land conservation organization. This means that the farm or ranch can run the same as usual but is protected by the easement, plus the farmer gets some compensation to help with financial difficulties.” (Hamilton, 2).

Conservation easements are an immensely helpful solution, but not always applicable. Not all land is considered valuable to developers, so a conservation easement will not apply. Another way to help would be to donate to the American Farmland Trust. The American Farmland Trust is an organization devoted to solving farming problems, such as protecting farmland. Donating can give them access to even more resources to save more farmland.

Food is the center of all human systems and processes, both directly and indirectly. Our entire world would collapse without it, and we need to protect it. Considering the importance of Idahoan farms, high housing demand, and farmers’ financial stress, shows that we need to implement protection for our farms. We need to do something, and this situation calls for awareness. The best people to tell are actual farmers, as they are the ones in trouble. Raising awareness about this issue to grow support for viable solutions like conservation easements might be enough to save the farms before it is too late.

If you want to check my facts here are lots of sources to prove my point.

Our Changing Idaho: With Few Protections In Place, Farmland Is Gobbled Up By Subdivisions | Boise State Public Radio​

Idaho Program - American Farmland Trust​

Bringing the "No Farms, No Food" Message to the Pacific Northwest​

https://www.boisestate.edu/hes/projects/farmlandloss/​

Canyon County Feeds the World​

Protecting Farmland Read More - American Farmland Trust​

Idaho Agriculture, Productive and Diverse​

Idaho Agriculture Facts and Statistics – Idaho State Department of Agriculture