Brandon+Butts

"farmland protection." //http://www.farmland.org/programs/protection/default.asp?gclid=CKmMquTwup4CFQk75QodVR5clw//. Web. 3 Dec 2009.
 * every minute of every day America loses 2 acres of agricultural land to development.
 * over the past 20 years the average acreage per person for development and new housing almost doubled.
 * America's farms and ranches provide an unlimited supply of fresh, healthy and local food, but they are slowly disappearing.
 * farms that are closest to our cities, and directly in the path of development, produces a lot of our fresh food, about 63 percent of our dairy products and 86 percent of fruits and vegetables.
 * Farm and ranch lands provide food and cover for wildlife, help control flooding, protect wetlands and watersheds and maintain air quality. They can absorb and filter waste water and provide groundwater recharge. new energy crops even have the potential to replace fossil fuels.
 * Every hour we lose 125 acres of farm and ranch land.
 * Approximately half of the two billion acres of land in America is working agricultural land.
 * The U.S. food and farming system contributes nearly $1 trillion to our national economy.
 * Well-managed agricultural land supplies important non-market goods and services for our environment.
 * the percentage of agricultural land lost annually to development is growing rapidly.
 * American Farmland Trust has launched a nationwide agriculture and invironment initiative to help farmers and ranchers play a major role in improving our environment while also expanding their sources of income and keeping them on their land.
 * Agriculture is the single largest user of land and water resources and must be part of any solutions to address our most pressing environmental challenges: climate change and water quality.
 * Our best farm and ranch land provides not only fresh food but also open space, clean water and wildlife habitat. Farms and ranches support healthy communities.
 * On July 30th the House passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act of 2009. The Act is intended to strengthen the safety of the nation’s food by granting the Food and Drug Administration greater authority over food inspection and recalls.
 * Over half the land in America is in farms and ranches, and the use of this land to produce food, fiber and energy has an enormous impact on our environment.

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 * developing ignores the costs of destroying open space, wildlife, nature, and recreational space.
 * it's not just farmland that gets developed, but wilderness, forests, and wetlands as well.

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 * The Farmland Preservation Program is designed to strengthen the agricultural industry and preserve important farmlands.
 * Past experience has shown that farm owners are motivated to preserve their farms for a variety of reasons, including securing capital to expand their existing agricultural operation, eliminating or reducing debt load and estate and retirement planning.
 * Farms or development easements that are acquired through the Farmland Preservation Program will forever be protected for agricultural use.
 * The Right to Farm Act was passed by the NJ Legislature in 1983 and amended in 1998. The Act protects responsible commercial farmers from development or things that may harm there land.