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- Info
The vanishing farmland crisis: Critical views on the movement to preserve agricultural land
| Author: |
Baden, John, ed. |
| Date: |
1984 |
| Periodical: |
Political Economy Research Center. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kanasas |
| Abstract: |
I have been interested in the issue of preserving agricultural land for nearly forty years. My wife and I represent five generations in American agriculture, and we view agriculture as both a productive activity and a way of life that has much to recommend it. As operators of a sheep ranch in Montana's Gallatin Valley, we are well aware of the problems of preserving agricultural land. This professional and personal concern was the reason for sponsoring the Vanishing Farmland Crisis: Critical Views of the Movement to Preserve Agricultural Land, the working conference that produced this volume and was funded by a grant from the Carthage Foundation. In December 1981, twenty-four authors and critics met at the Lone Mountain Guest Ranch in Big Sky, Montana, to present and evaluate papers on various aspects of this important policy issue. Both authors and critics were selected on the strength of their previous research and publications. Each author presented his paper, which was then evaluated by assigned reviewers. A lively general discussion followed each presentation. White consensus may be a sign of cowardice and weak-mindedness, a "sense of the meeting," as that term is used by the Society of Friends, did emerge. It was generally agreed that the -"vanishing farmland crisis" has been widely misunderstood and exaggerated. This book analyzes the prevailing hysteria, explains why it is unnecessary, and presents dispassionate and well-documented counter views. We should understand and sympathize with those who view the conversion of farmland as a crisis in the making. Issues involving policy on natural resources are, after all, consistently complex and emotional. More often than not, this conjunction offers a recipe for confusion, error, and acrimonious debate and a propensity for moralizing. The farmland issue clearly exhibits all of these characteristics. We trust that the reader will have greater understanding and less concern after reading this volume. |
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