Check Out Our Passport Courses
Passport is your ticket to the training, experiences, and connections that will take you where you want to go in your planning career. Subscribe for unlimited access for one year to APA's extensive learning library of solution-oriented content facilitated by planners, for planners.
-
Pennsylvania Agricultural Resources Evaluation Handbook
March 2016This guide presents actions that can help transportation planners and other decision-makers identify resources throughout the several phases of transportation projects to avoid or minimize the impacts on agricultural resources. -
Waukesha County, WI, A Comprehensive Development Plan for Waukesha County
Updated July 2011This county's comprehensive plan contains an appendix with the county's farmland preservation plan. -
Indiana Model Agricultural Zoning Ordinances
November 2014by: Indiana Land Resources CouncilThis compendium of model ordinances sought to offer guidance to counties wanting to establish or update their zoning ordinances to include strategies to minimize conflicts between agricultural activities and non-agricultural uses. -
Wisconsin Guide for Developing County Farmland Preservation Plans
February 2011This guide contains information to help counties develop farmland protection plans that address the continued loss of important agricultural land to urban development pressures. -
Policy Options for Strengthening Farmland Mitigation in Massachusetts and other New England States: Identifying Policy Barriers and Opportunities Around Land Access and Farm Transfer
2016by: Ben Kurtzman, Jesse Robertson-DuBoisThis briefing paper explores current farmland mitigation policies in Massachusetts, which are in place to help preserve productive farmland, and recommends changes that have the potential to strengthen the existing policies. -
Greener Fields: Combating Climate Change by Keeping Land in Farming in New York
May 2017by: Sanaz Arjomand, David HaightThis briefing paper addresses how preserving and promoting the good management of farmland help New York state's goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2050. -
Farms Under Threat: The State of the States
May 2020by: Julia Freedgood, Mitch Hunter, Jennifer DempseyThis report offers a detailed view of the nation's agricultural landscape and the challenges that threaten farms and rances at the state level. -
Approaches to Balancing Solar Expansion and Farmland Preservation: A Comparison across Selected States
EB 2018-04, May 2018by: Travis Grout, Jennifer IfftThis briefing paper addresses the growing need to manage and balance conflicts of interest between farmland protection and solar energy expansion. -
The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture, Land Resources, Water Resources, and Biodiversity in the United States
May 2008by: Peter Backlund, Anthony Janetos, David SchimelThis report offers insight into the impact of climate change on available resources, including agriculture, land and water resources, and biodiversity. -
Are Preserved Farms Actively Engaged in Agriculture and Conservation?
Land Use Policy, 45: 103-116, May 2015by: Paul Gottlieb, Brian Schilling, Kevin SullivanThis article sought to answer whether farmlands enrolled in protection programs are engaged in agricultural activities or conservation projects. -
San Joaquin County, CA, Code of Ordinances
Adopted May 2021The county’s development regulations address farmland protection. -
Peach Bottom, PA, Zoning Ordinance
Updated January 2019The township’s zoning ordinance addresses farmland protection. -
Pittsgrove, NJ, Municipal Code
Updated August 2018The township’s land use and development code addresses farmland protection through agricultural buffer requirements. -
Porter, MI, Compiled Ordinances
Updated August 2016The township’s zoning code addresses farmland protection by establishing an Agricultural/Farmland Preservation district with the intent of preserving land within the district for agricultural use for the foreseeable future. -
Saugatuck, MI, Code of Ordinances
Updated April 2020The township’s zoning code addresses farmland protection through the application of sliding-scale zoning. -
Oneida County, ID, Development Code
Updated July 2018The county’s development code addresses farmland protection. -
Boone County, IL, Code of Ordinances
Updated September 2021The county addresses farmland protection in its code of ordinances through establishing an agricultural conservation easement and farmland protection program as well as agricultural district protections in its zoning code. -
Person County, NC, Farmland Preservation Plan
Adopted June 2016This functional plan focuses on developing homegrown agribusinesses and agritourism enterprises to build a foundation for the local economy. -
Calhoun County, MI, Farmland Preservation Program Ordinance
Adopted February 2003The county addresses farmland protection through a farmland preservation program ordinance. -
Flower Mound, TX, Code of Ordinances
Updated July 2021The town’s zoning code addresses farmland protection in the code’s Smart Growth Program. -
Brecknock, PA, Municipal Code
Updated May 2017The township’s zoning code addresses farmland protection. -
Cass County, MN, Land Use Ordinance
Updated April 2017The county’s land use ordinance addresses farmland protection through agricultural easements. -
Washington County, WI, A Farmland Preservation Plan for Washington County
Adopted December 2013This functional plan addresses farmland preservation for Washington County, WI. -
Fremont County, ID, Development Code
Updated 2011The county’s development code addresses farmland protection through the protection of agricultural operations through agricultural waivers. -
Albany County, NY, Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan
Adopted February 2019This functional plan addresses farmland protection within the county. -
Sonoma County, CA, General Plan 2020
Updated August 2016The county’s general plan addresses farmland protection in the agricultural resources element. -
Town of Seneca, NY, Comprehensive Plan
Adopted June 2013The town’s comprehensive plan contains goals, policies and actions that address farmland protection. -
San Luis Obispo County, CA, General Plan
Updated May 2010The county general plan’s Agricultural Element addresses farmland protection. -
Peninsula Township, MI, Master Plan
Adopted January 2011The township’s master plan addresses farmland protection through its Agricultural Land Use Policy. -
Thurston County, WA, Comprehensive Plan
Updated December 2020The county’s comprehensive plan contains goals, objectives, and policies that address farmland protection. -
San Juan County, WA, Comprehensive Plan
Updated April 2010The county’s comprehensive plan addresses farmland protection in its land use element. -
Linn County, OR, Comprehensive Plan
Updated October 2002The county’s comprehensive plan addresses farmland protection in its Land Use Element Code. -
New Jersey Comprehensive Farmland Preservation Plans
Updated March 2021This clearinghouse, curated by the New Jersey State Agricultural Development Committee, provides access to comprehensive farmland preservation plans. -
Lancaster County, PA, Agricultural Zoning District Guidelines for Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
October 2010This guide, created as part of Lancaster County’s comprehensive planning process, provides information on agricultural zoning districts as mechanisms to help protect agricultural resources and industry. -
Orland, CA, Administrative Guidelines for Implementation of General Plan Agricultural Buffering Policies
September 2005This guide addresses farmland protection by establishing agricultural buffering guidelines for new urban development in the city. -
Planning for Agriculture: A Guide for Connecticut Municipalities
October 2020by: Chelsea Gazillo, John Guszkowski, AICP, Kip KolesinskasThis guide from American Farmland Trust and Connecticut Conference of Municipalities offers information and tools to help local leaders preserve and protect local agriculture. -
Planning for Agriculture in Wisconsin: A Guide for Communities
November 2002by: Douglas Jackson-Smith, Paul Benjamin, Richard CastlenuovoThis guide from University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection addresses how to plan for agriculture. -
British Columbia Guide to Edge Planning: Promoting Compatibility Along Agricultural–Urban Edges
2015This guide offers guidelines for maximizing compatibility between uses in Edge Planning Areas or agricultural and urban lands near Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) boundaries. -
Planning for Agriculture in New York: A Toolkit for Towns and Counties
January 2011by: David Haight, Diane HeldThis toolkit offers helpful strategies and guidance for all towns and counties on planning for agricultural uses -
Preserving Rural Character Through Agriculture: A Resource Kit for Planners
December 2000by: Nada HaddadThis guide focuses on the preservation of rural character through a thriving agricultural sector. -
Larimer County, CO, A Right to Farm and Ranch Policy
BCC Policy #18A, Adopted September 1998This standalone policy protects farms and ranches from nuisance complaints as long as they are compliant with county regulations. -
Open Space & Resource Protection Regulations
2007This guide provides information to help implement regulations to help protect open space in Vermont. -
Priorities for Advancing the Concept of New Ruralism
Sustainability 8(3): 1-15, 2016by: Galen Newman, Jesse Saginor, AICPThis article expands on the concept of “New Ruralism,” a development framework that links farmland preservation with residential development to reduce farmland conversion and low-density development and create planned agrarian-based rural suburbs that counteract sprawl. -
County Right-to-Farm Ordinances in California: An Assessment of Impact and Effectiveness
AIC Issues Brief Number 15, May 2001by: Matthew Wacker, Alvin Sokolow, Rachel ElkinsThis briefing paper reviewed 15 county-adopted right-to-farm ordinances and their implementation to determine the effectiveness of this tool in protecting agricultural operations and reducing farm-urban edge conflicts. -
Agricultural Land Conservation: An Important Part of California’s Climate Strategy
April 2016This briefing paper argues for another benefit of farmland preservation: helping to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals. -
Agricultural Conservation Easements
April 2019by: Julia Freedgood, Jennifer DempseyThis fact sheet provides definitions for agricultural conservation easements, gives an overview of its history, and describes some of the benefits and risks of this farmland protection tool. -
Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements
November 2020by: Farmland Information CenterThis fact sheet defines purchase of agricultural conservation easement (PACE) programs, gives an overview of the history of PACE programs, and describes their function and purpose. -
Zoning in Support of Agriculture in Ohio: What Are the Options?
May 2007by: Jill Clark, Peggy HallThis briefing paper sought to answer the question of how zoning can support agricultural activities. -
States’ Right-to-Farm Statutes
November 2020by: Rusty W. Rumley, Elizabeth RumleyThis web page from the National Agricultural Law Center offers access to each state’s Right-to-Farm statute. -
Agricultural District Programs
September 2016This fact sheet describes state-level agricultural district programs and gives an overview of the history of the program.