By Gregg Hoffmann
A grassroots movement has started in Western Wisconsin to preserve farmland for the future.
Jame Servais, a Vernon County Board supervisor and former farmer, La Crosse County planner Charley Handy and several others have started discussions about “purchasing development rights” (PDR) programs
They organized a meeting in La Crosse earlier this month and have tentatively scheduled another for March 14. The effort certainly is worth exploring and these organizers deserve credit for getting something started.
A study by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters found that Wisconsin loses about 30,000 acres of farmland per year. Wisconsin had nearly 24 million agricultural acres in 1950 and by 2005, that number had dropped to 15 million. The study points out that nearly 60 percent of acres lost between 2000 and 2005 were in 19 counties, including counties near Minnesota’s Twin Cities, areas around Wausau and between Madison and Milwaukee.
While the pressure for development is not as intense in areas of western Wisconsin further from the Twin Cities, it has increased in recent years. Many farms are carved up into smaller parcels for recreation or vacation homes. So, this is the time for such an effort as PDR, rather than waiting until a crisis arises.
PDR programs vary slightly from region to region, but the basic premise is to pay landowners for development rights to give farmers another alternative to selling out to developers. Generally landowners are paid the difference between the agricultural value of the land and the development value of the land.
The organizers of the grassroots movement in western Wisconsin recently took a trip to some eastern states where PDR programs already are in place.
Servais said some of the areas they visited on their trip in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York had been working on the program for 25-30 years.
“I thought we should get going so in the next 10 years we have our feet on the ground,” Servais told the La Crosse Tribune. “This program would help young beginning farmers and farmers that maybe want to take over their farm from their father.”
Funding for any program always is a challenge. Some states have coordinated statewide funding of programs. Pennsylvania bonded for $100 million in 1986 to get the program started. Individual counties also provided funding and now the state provides money through a 2 cent per pack cigarette tax.
State Sen. Dan Kapanke, R-La Crosse, state Rep. Lee Nerison, R-Westby, and Brad Pfaff of Congressman Ron Kind’s office attended the meeting in La Crosse.
Wisconsin Department of Agriculture officials told Servais they are working on including the PDR issue in their “Working Lands” initiative that will be presented to Gov. Jim Doyle in the near future.
Kapanke said the program is more likely to get state support if there is a grassroots effort. Kapanke said the program has to be flexible enough to meet the needs and concerns of landowners.
Jessica Luehning of the Valley Stewardship Network said she administered a PDR program at the county level in Washington state before coming to Wisconsin. She said the programs can be effective in protecting land, but should a part of a broader approach.
Certainly, PDR programs are worth exploring. Farmland preservation measures, like those in Walworth County and other areas of the state closer to urban areas, also should be studied.
Any farm preservation measures also should be part of an overall Smart Growth approach to land use and planning in western Wisconsin.
Servais, Handy and the others who have started the grassroots discussions are doing it right, starting before development pressure has become too intense. Plans made in haste are never as well thought-out and thorough.
Handy and Servais told the Tribune they would like to see a pilot project funded with private money before public funds are sought. That too is a good idea, and would seem like a natural for the Farm Bureau or another agri-business agency to make their baby.
