Agricultural land: will localities act to preserve it?: an exploration into the conditions that cause local governments to protect agricultural land

Abstract

Measuring the existence of 23 preconditions which increase the likelihood of enacting farmland protection programs in urban fringe counties of the Southeast is the vehicle used to determine whether localities, in general, are likely to enact such programs. The 90 Southeastern counties used in the study were compared to 55 counties which have enacted land use controls to protect farmland. The exploratory comparative analysis found that three conditions were less apparent in the Southeast. 1) Less political support had developed even though motivational factors were similar, 2) there is less support for the protection of farmland from the state government level, 3) the agricultural sector tended to be less important, and therefore, less economic reason to protect farmland exists. Except for these three factors, there were few discriminating preconditions. In general, the Southeastern counties had as many motives and supports as did the Active counties.

If the protection of farmland is a desirable social goal, then the results indicate that strong federal authority is not necessary given that many motivational and support preconditions exist in the Southeastern urban fringe; however, there is an indicated need for federal leadership to encourage state support and action and to develop local political support.