Collaborative Solutions: Central Texas Land Access
Toward Farmland Preservation and Access
By Anna-Kay Reeves, Multimedia Communications Specialist
This blog summarizes research and analysis carried out by SFC team members Amy Gallo, Farm Viability Director, Marie Miller, Farm Viability Coordinator, and Hallie Casey, former Value Chain Director, with Jarred Maxwell and Krisztian Varsa. Read the full report: Land Access: Toward Preserving Land in Central Texas for Regenerative Farming.
Farmland Prices At Record Highs
The only thing bigger than Texas (ignoring Alaska) is Texas pride. Texans have reason to be proud – if the Lone Star State were a country, it would have the 8th largest economy in the world. While the economic boom is good for many sectors, it’s a bust when it comes to preserving high-quality farmland. Land access is one of the biggest challenges facing small-scale producers in the region. “I thought land was expensive 10 years ago. But this land costs five times what it did 10 years ago,” said Aubrey Noelke, co-owner of Belle Vie Farm & Kitchen.
“I thought land was expensive 10 years ago. but this land costs five times what it did 10 years ago,” – Aubrey Noelke, Co-owner Belle Vie Farm & Kitchen
Economic growth in the “Texas Triangle”, made up of the Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and DFW metroplexes, has inflated the price of land near Central Texas cities. As big-name retailers like Amazon and Tesla expand Texas operations and population growth increases the demand for residential development, small-scale farmers are hard-pressed to gain and retain land access in the region. In a dollars-only evaluation of who can profit more per acre, developers win. But the profit potential in developing land for manufacturing, processing, and residential use doesn’t account for the value small-scale farming adds to regional food security and land stewardship.
How Does Central Texas Land Access Impact Local Food?
Our food system relies on global trade and shipping to stock food products. When supply chains break down — as a result of weather, public health, or even high transportation costs — locally-produced food is critical to keeping communities fed. “Events like Winter Storm Uri made the local food system that much more important. So we really wanted to be a part of that,” said SFC Farmers’ Market Coordinator Devon Sisneros of her decision to open Sun & Moon Farm with her partner.
An investment in Central Texas land access for small-scale farmers and ranchers is an investment in food system resilience. Small-scale, sustainable farms like Belle Vie Farm & Kitchen produce food that doesn’t need to travel far to nourish communities, all while enriching the soil with fertilizer from pasture animals.
The Future of Land Access is Collaborative
Growers and producers from all backgrounds deserve the chance to support their local food system and earn a livelihood. To protect the future of local farming in Central Texas, Sustainable Food Center (SFC) recommends nonprofits and municipalities partner with agricultural land trusts to buy land, preserve it through conservation easements, and lease it back to farmers.
This solution protects regional food security and supports diversity in agriculture by increasing land access near urban centers, where many communities who historically faced discrimination in accessing land, including BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+ farmers, feel most at home. People should be able to farm where they feel safe and connected.
Keep an eye out for a follow up article focused on land access for underserved farmers or read the full report.
To protect the future of local farming in Central Texas, Sustainable Food Center (SFC) recommends nonprofits, municipalities, and land trusts partner to buy land, Enter it into conservation easement, and lease land back to farmers.
Currently, many Texas organizations and land trusts like Cibolo Conservancy and Conservation Force focus on the critical work of wildland habitat preservation, but few focus on land use for food production. Texas Agricultural Land Trust (TALT) is one of the state’s only land conservation advocates focused on the preservation of “working lands”, land used for crop cultivation, grazing, or as part of drainage and storm protection infrastructure.
TALT is off to a running start on purchasing and entering working lands into conservation easements, with plans to close on 28 property sales planned in 2024 alone. However, TALT’s focus is primarily on large, rural tracts of land in parts of the state where competition from developers is less intense. Central Texas, with its smaller land parcels and soaring costs, leaves developers with little to no viable competition from sustainable agriculture.
That’s where partnerships come in. SFC’s analysis suggests that collective action from nonprofits, city and county governments, and multiple land trusts pooling resources to buy land, place it under long term conservation easement before leasing it back to farmers can protect Central Texas farmland. This solution isn’t only theoretical: the Working Farms Fund, an initiative of the Conservation Fund, is an example of land trust management that has been successful in preserving farmland around metro areas like Atlanta and Chicago.
Central Texas needs a similar effort to ensure high quality farmland is accessible to small-scale food producers. “I see a future in which there is real tangible investment in the preservation of small and mid-size farms. One that honors the land, provides a decent quality of life for farmers, and provides food to the community in which it is grown,” said Amy Gallo, SFC Farm Viability Director.
“I see a future in which there is real tangible investment in the preservation of small and mid-size farms. One that honors the land, provides a decent quality of life for farmers, and provides food to the community in which it is grown,” – Amy Gallo, SFC Farm Viability Director.
Local Land Access Transforms the Food System
You may have heard “No farms, no food”, American Farmland Trust’s slogan. Have you thought about “No Austin farmers, no Austin farmers’ markets”? The same is true for farmers’ markets anywhere. Our SFC Farmers’ Markets in Austin, as well as partners like Texas Farmers’ Market, rely on producers having land access within ~150 miles of Austin to bring their products to market every week.
Losing Central Texas farms wouldn’t just hurt farmers’ markets in the region – it would limit support for food insecure communities. Federally-funded programs like Triple WIC, which triples shoppers’ monthly WIC benefits to take home more fruits and veggies, would disappear. SNAP incentive programs like Double Up Food Bucks Texas would be limited to grocery stores. And those federal funds? They’d go to agribusinesses instead of the pockets of local farmers.
Farmland preservation isn’t just about nostalgia for fields of green. It’s about building a fair, resilient, and local food system where every farmer has the chance to thrive, and every family can access fresh, nutritious food.
What Can You Do to Protect Central Texas Land Access?
Preserving farmland in Central Texas takes all of us. Stay informed, support local farmers, and advocate for policies that protect land access. To learn more and join the movement, read the full report. Land Access: Toward Preserving Land in Central Texas for Regenerative Farming.
