By Andrew Dane, Community Development Agent, Barron and Chippewa Counties

According to a recent survey by market research publisher Packaged Facts, the market for locally grown food is expected to jump from approximately $4 billion in 2002 to $5 billion in 2007. (Note: there is no agreed upon definition for what �local� food means � some say 100 or 250 miles, others define it as food grown within the State or the Midwest). With the recent passage of Wisconsin�s state budget, a new program - �Buy Local, Buy Wisconsin�- will provide grants to groups and organizations around the State working on promoting local food system development.

So what�s driving the demand for locally grown food? A number of factors are believed to be driving this trend, including concerns over food safety and the �greening� of American culture. Increasingly, what we put in our mouths is no longer thought of as strictly a health issue. As Michael Pollan points out in his popular book The Omnivore�s Dilemna, everyone is an eater, and how we choose to spend our food dollars is a decision we make everyday. Consumers are increasingly thinking about the type of food system they want to support with their food dollars. People are spending money on food for moral, political, and environmental reasons rather than simply for health reasons.

A popular claim surrounding �local� food is that by supporting farmers you are �protecting the environment� and �preserving open space.� The environment claim is often made when contrasting sustainable or organic practices with conventional practices. The open space claim is essentially the same type of argument that proponents of commodity agriculture make � if we support farms they are more likely to succeed and therefore less likely to be converted into other uses.

But can the growth in the demand for local food translate into more open space protection or more farmland preservation? If local food is to live up to this promise, both the number of farms and acreage dedicated to growing for a local market will need to expand dramatically. What types of policies or programs are needed to grow the local food system so that it does in fact meaningfully contribute to farmland preservation, open space preservation, and the safeguarding of other environmental services that rural, working lands provide? I�ll attempt to answer these questions by taking a look at a few land use strategies and analyzing them with an eye toward the types of farms that are at the leading edge of the local food movement. Secondly, I�ll discuss a few alternative strategies that could strengthen the link between local food system development and �saving the environment.�

Land Use Strategies

A land use strategy which has helped protect agricultural lands is Purchase of Development Rights (PDR). A PDR program uses local government or grant dollars to purchase the �development rights� to targeted lands, usually those with high natural resources or agricultural values. The land is retained by the original owner and may later be bought or sold, but the right to develop the land is limited. Because PDR programs are costly the number of acres they can protect from development is quite limited. Nonetheless, farms marketing locally are typically small. Therefore, a well designed PDR program may actually be a good tool to protect these types of farms. In Marin County, CA, land trusts have protected over 25,000 acres of land, including Straus Farm � a 660 acre organic dairy. Where private commitments exist, donated Conservation Easements can provide the same level of protection as PDR programs but at a much lower cost to local governments.

Another type of land use strategy that could encourage local food system development is a Planned Unit Development (PUD). PUDs offer a flexible alternative to traditional zoning. Developments are proposed and reviewed as an integrated package and often incorporate a mix of land uses or common open spaces. Potentially, they provide an excellent tool to incorporate open space and working farm land into new residential or mixed use developments. This approach may also enable planners and developers to integrate space for local community gardens, school gardens, and farmers� markets into local communities.

While newer, innovative land use strategies may offer ways to promote local food system development, re-visiting existing Zoning Codes may be an even more effective way of expanding the local food system. Zoning codes should be examined to identify barriers that make farming difficult or impossible. Working to tear down or modify these barriers could likely do more for local food system development than anything else. Do zoning codes make agri-tourism and other on-farm ventures difficult to implement? Are educational activities allowed on farm? Do codes allow for on-farm selling? In order for farms that market locally to thrive and multiply, land use officials need to allow these types of farms to take advantage of their full economic potential. These types of farms need a regulatory environment where they can capture as much value-added dollar as possible to survive. Marketing, processing, on-farm educational programs, agri-tourism and direct sales are some of the activities that allow "local" farms to flourish.