ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an economic perspective on the causes and consequences of farmland conversion. Land, the productive factory of agriculture, goes out of farming and into other uses and from other uses into farming due to thousands of individual decisions—by farmers, developers, communities, public officials, consumers, taxpayers—based on the available use options and information about their likely impact. While land use conversion may appear haphazard, even chaotic, there is a certain logic or at least a predictability to those changes. Economics helps one understand the process of land use change and predict the particular use pattern that emerges. Successful farmland policy will require the following elements: first, a visible and pro-active state-level commitment to encouraging farmland retention is essential. Second, there should be local implementation of farmland policies within the overall state structure. Third, farmland policies are most successful when farmers themselves initiate action. Fourth, farmland protection policy can only succeed when there is strong and consistent growth management policy.
