Exurban Farmers' Perceptions of Land Use Policy Effectiveness: Implications for the Next Generation of Policy Development

Authors

  • Jill K. Clark The Ohio State University
  • Shoshanah M. Inwood University of Vermont
  • Douglas Jackson-Smith Utah State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2014.051.001

Keywords:

Exurban Agriculture, Land Use Policy, Farmland Preservation, Urbanization, Farmer Perception

Abstract

Many local governments have enacted land use policies to address farmland loss and farm viability by protecting large blocks of farmland from residential growth. While the rate of suburban "sprawl" has slowed since the burst of the housing bubble in 2008, these policies remain the dominant approach to agricultural land use policy. Given the importance of exurban agricultural production, the growing diversity of exurban farms, and the increasing interest in local food systems by the public, it is time to revisit land use policy. Little is known about how farmers perceive land use policy environments, and whether diverse types of farmers have distinctive views on policy effectiveness. Therefore in this study we document land use policy environments of eight U.S. exurban counties. With farmer survey results we examine factors associated with farmers' perceptions of policy effectiveness. We find that the overall policy environment and differences in farmer and farm characteristics explain less variation in views of effectiveness than do farmers' perceptions of local community support, pressure from global markets, intensity of nonfarm development, and overall optimism about the future of agriculture. Farmers who market directly to consumers are particularly pessimistic about land use policies, as these policies were likely not designed with small farms in mind. Results suggest that next-generation policy efforts to encourage the sustainability of exurban farming could be more effective by creating stronger ties between farm and nonfarm populations, adopting flexible policies that recognize the different ways in which farmers adapt to urbanization, and ensuring that the voices of diverse exurban farmers are included in a participatory policy-making process.

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Author Biographies

Jill K. Clark, The Ohio State University

1810 College Road; The Ohio State University; Columbus, Ohio 43210 USA; +1-614-688-5984.

Shoshanah M. Inwood, University of Vermont

Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont.

Douglas Jackson-Smith, Utah State University

Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology, Utah State University.

Published

2014-10-16

How to Cite

Clark, J. K., Inwood, S. M., & Jackson-Smith, D. (2014). Exurban Farmers’ Perceptions of Land Use Policy Effectiveness: Implications for the Next Generation of Policy Development. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 5(1), 39–55. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2014.051.001

Issue

Section

Open Call Paper

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