Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture

New working group considers land tenure and conservation efforts

Back to Leopold Letter Summer 2011

By MARY ADAMS, Policy Initiative coordinator

Building on the success of the recently completed Sustainable Agriculture Land Tenure (SALT) project, the Leopold Center’s Policy Initiative is collaborating with the Drake Agricultural Law Center on a new policy-oriented working group. Professor Neil Hamilton and staff attorney Ed Cox have organized two meetings for the group at the Drake Law Clinic in Des Moines. Representatives from nonprofit organizations, government agencies, Iowa State University, agribusinesses, Drake University, and farm groups have participated in the meetings.

The overall objective of the working group is to bring key stakeholders together to:

  • discuss existing land tenure trends;
  • examine these trends in the context of current public policy;
  • analyze the impact of this contextual framework on land use decisions and the corresponding effects on the local and regional community and ecosystem; and
  • identify possible Leopold Center policy projects that address the challenges and opportunities in relation to resilient land tenure policy in Iowa.

At the first meeting in March the group discussed conservation mechanisms, including regulations, voluntary programs, the use of private sector resources, and the creation of a landowner collective.  They considered the interlocking needs to enforce existing regulations, such as Soil and Water Conservation District soil loss limits, while continuing to support voluntary conservation programs. The need for better communications also was noted. There was a call for improved interactions among landowners, operators, and agencies, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service and soil and water conservation districts.

Enhanced communication between landowners and operators can be addressed in a property lease. Private parties might be employed to act as landowner advocates because they can provide tailored attention geared to the land and the landowners. Economics play a role here as some landowners, in particular investors and heirs, desire such a system but may not be willing to pay. (Currently, only about five percent of landowners take advantage of professional farm management services.)

Conservation Certifications could be a tool used to improve land and water quality. Agren, Inc. is in the process of developing such a program, based on operator certification. Again, this sort of program requires landowner knowledge of conditions on the farm and a desire for promoting conservation. Another possibility is creating an organization of landowners to act cooperatively to require conservation practices within a specific region or watershed.

The April meeting included a presentation from ISU rural sociologist J. Gordon Arbuckle featuring data from his latest landowner survey. The “Landowners and Operators Caring about the Land” (LOCAL) Report was conducted in cooperation with Agren and Iowa’s Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The slideshow on non-operator landowners and conservation can be viewed on the Leopold Center website.

The group discussions focused on better understanding of the land tenure situation, organizational and technological resources available for addressing land tenure and stewardship, areas for cooperation, and expectations for what possible policy pre-proposals for the Leopold Center might look like.

Back to Leopold Letter Summer 2011