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Preserving
Wilderness and Farm Land
Reasons
to Preserve Our Open Spaces
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Butterfly Hollow Farm ____ The Path Leading Us Here ____ How The Farm Got Its Name ____ Restoring the Old Farmhouse ____ Where The Beefalo Roam ____ Saddle Up The Horses ____ Saving Wilderness and Farm Land ____ Farm Journals ____ Sharing The Farm ____ Guest Book ____ Site Map ____ |
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Ensures
Food Security Agriculture accounts for nearly 16 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product and provides 18 percent of civilian jobs. Our farmland supports the world's most productive food and farming system. Our population is predicted to grow by 50 percent in the next 50 years and farmers and ranchers will have to make do with 13 percent fewer acres of high quality agricultural land. If we do not take measures to save our land resources for the future, domestic food production and certainly food prices will become the most important issue for the next generation. Protects our Natural Resources With 945 million acres in production, agriculture is the dominant land use in the United States. So it is not surprising that farming has had a significant ecological impact. Since most farmers live close to the land, it is in their best interest to protect the environment that sustains them. The federal government owns 408 million acres of forests, parks, and wildlife refuges that provide substantial habitat for wildlife. Most of this federal land is located in 11 western states. Another 108 million acres are publicly owned by states, municipalities and other nonfederal units of government. Yet public agencies cannot sustain wildlife populations alone. Farmers and ranchers own more than twice the amount of land devoted to public forests, parks and wildlife refuges. Well-managed farmland protects soil and water resources and can prevent flooding. It absorbs and filters wastewater and provides groundwater recharge. Yet developed land uses have far more negative long-term impact on our natural resources. Invests in Community Infrastructure Agriculture contributes to local economies directly, through sales, job creation, support services and businesses. Distinctive agricultural landscapes may be magnets for tourism. Farmland offers hedge against fragmented suburban development. Increasingly, people view our natural resources and farmland as vital for the well-being of our communities, rather than as "free" material to be disposed of at will. Privately owned farmland generates more in local tax revenues than it costs is services. Local governments are finding out, often too late, that they cannot afford to pay the price of sprawl. Sustains Quality Of Life Sometimes the most important qualities are the hardest to qualify. Farm and open land maintains scenic, cultural and historic landscapes. It offers beautiful views and can provide opportunity for hunting, horseback riding, fishing and other recreational activities. Farms and ranches create identifiable and unique community character and add to our quality of life. Finally, farming is an integral part of our heritage and our identity as a people. American democracy is rooted in our agricultural past and founded on the principle that all people can own property and earn a living from the land. Our ongoing relationship with the agricultural landscape connects us to our history and to the natural world. ,Our land is our legacy both as we look back to the past and as we consider what we have of value to pass on to future generations.
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info@butterflyhollow.com
Butterfly
Hollow
Gordonsville,
TN 38563