Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T12:14:25.502Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fifty Years of Farmland Protection Legislation in the Northeast: Persistent Issues and Emergent Research Opportunities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 September 2016

Nelson Bills
Nelson Bills*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York
Get access

Extract

Over the past fifty years, several different types of publicly sponsored programs have been devised by state and local governments for the express purpose of encouraging owners to maintain land in an agricultural use. Although these units of government can, and do, wield considerable police power or regulatory influence, most attention has been given to voluntary, incentive-based approaches. First-generation programs were developed beginning in the mid-1950s, with state legislation centered on the provision of direct cash benefits via reduced property tax levies on farm real estate (Tremblay et al. 1987).

Type
Invited Papers
Information
Agricultural and Resource Economics Review , Volume 36 , Issue 2 , October 2007 , pp. 165 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Farmland Trust (AFT). 2007a. “Status of Selected Local PACE Programs: Fact Sheet.” American Farmland Trust, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
American Farmland Trust (AFT). 2007b. “Status of State PACE Programs: Fact Sheet.” American Farmland Trust, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Barlowe, R., Ahl, J., and Bachman, G. 1973. “Use-Value Assessment Legislation in the United States.” Land Economics 49(2): 206–213.Google Scholar
Bills, N. 2004. “Food, Agriculture, and the Emergent Service Economy: Challenges for the Northeast Region.” Rural Development Papers No. RDP-25, Northeast Center for Rural Development, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.Google Scholar
Bills, N., Geisler, C., Sokolow, A., and Kay, D. 2004a. “Conservation Easements as Encumbered Ownership: Issues at Hand.” Rural Development Papers No. RDP-26, Northeast Center for Rural Development, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA.Google Scholar
Bills, N., and Gross, D. 2005. “Sustaining Multifunctional Agricultural Landscapes: Comparing Stakeholder Perspectives in New York (US) and England (UK).” Land Use Policy 22(2): 313–321.Google Scholar
Bills, N., Kondo, M., Poe, G., and Telega, L. 2004b. “Agriculture and the Environment.” In New York Economic Handbook (2005), Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.Google Scholar
Blewett, R.A., and Lane, J.I. 1988. “Development Rights and the Differential Assessment of Agricultural Land: Fractional Valuation of Farmland Is Ineffective for Preserving Open Space and Subsidizes Speculation.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology 47(2): 195–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chicoine, D., Sonka, S., and Doty, R. 1982. “The Effects of Farm Property Tax Relief Programs on Farm Financial Conditions.” Land Economics 58(4): 516–523.Google Scholar
Daniels, T. 1991. “The Purchase of Development Rights: Preserving Agricultural Land and Open Space.” Journal of the American Planning Association 57(4): 421–431.Google Scholar
Daniels, T., and Bowers, D. 1997. Holding Our Ground. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
Davies, B., and Beldon, J. 1979. “A Survey of State Programs to Preserve Farmland.” Prepared for the Council on Environmental Quality by the National Conference of State Legislatures, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Delaware Department of Agriculture. 2004. Delaware Equine Industry, Dover, DE.Google Scholar
Duke, J., and Lynch, L. 2006. “Farmland Retention Techniques: Property Rights Implications and Comparative Evaluation.” Land Economics 82(2): 189–213.Google Scholar
Farmland Preservation Report. Various issues. Street, MD: Bowers Publishing, Inc.Google Scholar
Ferguson, K., and Cosgrove, J. 2000. “From the Field: What Farmers Have to Say About Vermont's Farmland Conservation Program.” American Farmland Trust, Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Freedgood, J. 1997. “Saving American Farmland: What Works.” American Farmland Trust, Northampton, MA.Google Scholar
Gutanski, J., and Squires, R. (eds.). 2002. Protecting the Land: Conservation Easements Past, Present and Future. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
Hady, T., and Siebold, A. 1974. “State Programs for the Differential Assessment of Farm and Open Space Land.” Agricultural Economic Report No. 256, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Hady, T., and Stinson, T. 1967. “Taxation of Farmland on the Rural-Urban Fringe: A Summary of State Preferential Assessment Activity.” Agricultural Economic Report No. 119, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Heimlich, R.E., and Anderson, W.D. 2001. “Development at the Urban Fringe and Beyond: Impacts on Agriculture and Rural Land.” Agricultural Economic Report No. 803, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Hellerstein, D., Nickerson, C., Cooper, J., Feather, P., Gadsby, D., Mullarkey, D., Tegene, A., and Barnard, C. 2002. “Farmland Protection: The Role of Public Preferences for Rural Amenities.” Agricultural Economic Report No. 805, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington D.C.Google Scholar
Homer, C., Dewitz, J., Fry, J., Coan, M., Hossain, N., Larson, C., Herold, N., McKerrow, A., VanDriel, J., and Wickham, J. 2007. “Completion of the 2001 National Land Cover Database for the Coterminous United States. Photogrammeric Engineering and Remote Sensing.” Available online at http://www.asprs.org/publications/pers/2007journal/april/high[-]light.pdf.Google Scholar
House, P. 1968. “Partial Tax Exemption for Farmland Properties in the Rural-Urban Fringe.” Appraisal Journal 36(3): 393–408.Google Scholar
Hughes, D., Woloshuk, J., Hanham, A., Workman, D., Snivey, D., Lewis, P., and Walker, T. 2004. “An Evaluation of the Impact of the Equine Industry on the West Virginia Economy.” West Virginia University Extension Service, Morgantown, WV.Google Scholar
Lesher, W., and Eiler, D. 1978. “An Assessment of Suffolk County's Farmland Preservation Program.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 60(1): 140–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, X., and Lynch, L. 2006. “Do Agricultural Preservation Programs Affect Farmland Conversion? Evidence from a Propensity Score Matching Estimator.” Working Paper No. 06-08, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.Google Scholar
Lubowski, R., Vesterby, M., Bucholtz, S., Baez, A., and Roberts, M. 2006. “Major Uses of Land in the United States: 2002.” Report No. EIB-14, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
Lynch, L., and Carpenter, J. 2003. “Is There Evidence of a Critical Mass in the Mid-Atlantic Agriculture Sector Between 1949 and 1977?” Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 32(1): 116–128.Google Scholar
Maine Extension Service. 2000. “Maine Equine Survey Results.” University of Maine, Orono, ME. Available online at http://www.umext.maine.edu/maineequine/survey/survey[-]results.htm.Google Scholar
Maloney Robb, M., and Bills, N. 2001. “Farmland Protection Planning in New York.” Extension Bulletin No. EB-2001-4, Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.Google Scholar
Maryland Agricultural Statistics Service. 2002. “Maryland Equine: Results of the 2002 Maryland Equine Census.” Available online at http://www.marlyandhorseindustry.org/census2.htm.Google Scholar
Maynard, L., Kelsey, T.W., Lembeck, S.M., and Becker, J.C. 1998. “Early Experience with Pennsylvania's Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.” Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 53(2): 106–112.Google Scholar
Mishra, A., El-Osta, H., Morehart, M., Johnson, J., and Hopkins, J. 2002. “Income, Wealth and the Economic Well-Being of Farm Households.” Report No. 812, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar
New Hampshire Farm Bureau. 2002. “New Hampshire Equine Study.” Available online at http://www.nhfarmbureau.org/publication/2004_equine_study_state.pdf.Google Scholar
New York Agricultural Statistics Service. 2001. “New York Equine Survey 2000.” New York Agricultural Statistics Service, Albany, NY.Google Scholar
New York Agricultural Statistics Service. 2006. “Equine Survey Underway.” Press release (February). Available online at http//www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/New_York/Publications/Special_Surveys/Equine2005/2005equine60203.htm.Google Scholar
New York State Business Council. 2007. “Analysis Finds New York's Per-Capita Tax Burden Highest in the Nation.” News release. Available online at http://www.bcnys.org/whatsnew/2007/0514statelocal.htm.Google Scholar
Parks, P.J., and Quimio, W.R. 1996. “Preserving Agricultural Land with Farmland Assessment: New Jersey as a Case Study.” Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 25(1): 22–27.Google Scholar
Rilla, E., and Sokolow, A. 2002. “California Farmers and Conservation Easements.” Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, Davis. Google Scholar
Rutgers Equine Science Center. 2007. “New Jersey Horse Industry Produces $1.1 Billion Annually in Economic Impact.” Press release, Rutgers Equine Science Center. Available online at http://www.esc.rutgers.edu/news_more/press_release/eis_release.htm.Google Scholar
Sokolow, A. 2006a. “A National View of Agricultural Easement Programs: Easements and Local Planning.” Report No. 3, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California.Google Scholar
Sokolow, A. 2006b. “A National View of Agricultural Easement Programs: Measuring Success in Protecting Farmland.” Report No. 4, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California.Google Scholar
Sokolow, A., and Zurbrugg, A. 2003. “A National View of Agricultural Easement Programs: Profiles and Maps.” Report No. 1, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Sokolow, A., and Zurbrugg, A. 2006. “A National View of Agricultural Easement Programs: How Programs Select Farmland to Fund.” Report No. 2, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, Davis.Google Scholar
Streeter, D., and Bills, N. 2003. “Value-Added Ag-Based Economic Development: A Panacea or False Promise?” Part 1 of the two-part companion series, What Is Value-Added and How Do We Study It? Working Paper No. 2003-07, Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.Google Scholar
Swinker, A., Tozer, P., Shields, M., and Landis, E. 2003. “Pennsylvania's Equine Industry Inventory, Basic Economic and Demographic Characteristics.” Department of Dairy and Animal Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.Google Scholar
Tremblay, R., Foster, J., MacKenzie, J., Derr, D., Lessley, B., Cole, G., and Bills, N. 1987. “Use Value Assessment of Agricultural Land in the Northeast.” Station Bulletin No. 694, Vermont Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2002. Census of Agriculture. National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA, Washington, D.C. Available online at http://www.nass.usda.gov/Census_of_Agriculture/index.asp.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Undated. National Resources Inventory (NRI), National Resources Conversation Service (NRCS), USDA, Washington, D.C. Available online at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/nri.Google Scholar
Wichelns, D., and Nakao, M. 2001. “Examining Changes in Land Use after the Sale of Development Rights on Farms in Rhode Island.” Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 30(2): 198–207.Google Scholar
Wiebe, K., Tegene, A., and Kuhn, B. 1993. “Partial Interests in Land: Policy Tools for Resource Use and Conservation.” Report No. 744, Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, D.C.Google Scholar