Farmland Protection & Economic Viability of Agriculture Committee
Committee Assumptions
The Farmland Protection & Economic Viability of Agriculture Committee assumes that both the land base and the economic viability of farming and ranching are vital ingredients to local agriculture and a food secure community. Both are at risk.
The basis for these assumptions is informed by a two-part Community Food Assessment for Missoula County. Part one, Our Foodshed in Focus: Missoula County Food and Agriculture by the Numbers, shows that while our population is increasing, our capacity to feed ourselves with locally produced food is decreasing. Between 1960 and 2000, the County's population increased 114%. Meanwhile, the acres in agricultural production decreased 34% from 1954 to 1997. Part two of the Community Food Assessment, Food Matters: Farm Viability and Food Consumption in Missoula County, provides further insights into these patterns. In a survey of 52 producers, 69% rely mainly on off-farm incomes, and 71% said they thought agriculture was "struggling" in Missoula County. Many producers identified two interrelated problems as the source of the struggle: low economic returns and development pressures.
Committee Goals
Given these assumptions, the Committee’s central goals are to:
- secure and influence policies and regulations and
- support and initiate programs that encourage and promote farmland protection and the economic viability of agriculture in Missoula County in ways that bolster our community food security.
