Today, American Farmland Trust, the organization that for forty-years has been saving that sustains us by protecting agricultural land from development, promoting environmentally sound farming practices and keeping farmers on the land, released an update to “Understanding and Activating Non-Operator Landowners: Non-Operator Landowner Survey,” adding additional state data, again clearly showing landowners care about conservation and are willing to share in the efforts to steward their land. The survey focused on individually or partnership owned lands, not institutions or trusts.

Around 40% of farmland in the U.S. is rented, in some U.S. counties that number is nearing 80%, and over a third of this land is owned by women. Conservation practices are less likely to be used by farmers on rented land because of perceptions about landowner views, difficulties communicating with landowners who may live some distance away and because most leases are verbal and typically run year to year, making conservation investment risky. Landowners on the other hand, are often not aware of available conservation programs and are unsure about broaching the topic with their farmers, particularly if they lack on-farm knowledge and experience, which we found is more common when the landowner is a woman.

“The important revelation of this work is that we have a communication gap rather than a difference in views and that is what led to reluctance to implement conservation on rented land,” said Dr. Gabrielle Roesch-McNally, AFT Women for the Land director. “The good news is that through targeted programming for farmers and landowners alike including instruction on how to come together on conservations goals for the land, long-term leases and implementation supported by government funded conservation programs and joint investment, we can improve conservation outcomes nationally.”