Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 5 april 2018
Plowing a path: State to buy farms to help new farmers

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT which represents farmers,
Associated Press fishers and ranchers with
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — divisions in 33 states, is typi-
Rhode Island is launching a cally wary of anyone other
program to buy farms and than a family farmer own-
sell them to new farmers for ing farmland, said Thomas
dirt cheap. Driscoll, director of conser-
A farm bought for $500,000, vation policy.
for example, could then But, Driscoll said, property
be sold for $100,000. It is an values may be getting so
unconventional approach high along both coasts that
to ensure that farming re- unconventional solutions
mains viable. are needed to ensure food
The National Farmers Union production.
knows of no other state “We want to see how this
that buys farmland to sell to operates in practice and
farmers at less than market how it affects farmers who
price. Other states give tax are farming there already,
credits and loans to begin- but ultimately access to
ning farmers. land is a major problem
Though some critics say this for farmers and we’re glad
is not the role of state gov- that people are thinking
ernment, Rhode Island sees creatively about it,” he
it as a way to keep young In this Tuesday, April 3, 2018, photo, farmers Sarah Turkus, front, and Dave Kuma, both of Providence, said.
entrepreneurs from moving R.I., sort seedling trays in a greenhouse, in Seekonk, Mass. Some Republican state
to other states, where land Associated Press lawmakers and established
may be cheaper. It also to buy it, Ayars said. Under the program, the spend $3 million from the farmers in Rhode Island
could attract other farmers “When we think about state will buy a farm at the most recent environmental have said that buying and
to the state, though retain- the future of agriculture in full appraised value, which bond approved by voters selling farmland is not the
ing farmers who already Rhode Island, this is a weak takes into account the to buy farmland and devel- state’s role.
are here is the main goal link,” he said. land’s worth if it was devel- opment rights. Glen Cottrell owns Cottrell
and the selection process Sarah Turkus, 30, started the oped. The state will then The value of all land and Homestead, a 118-year-old
favors Rhode Island farm- Sidewalk Ends Farm with resell the farm at the agri- buildings on farms nation- dairy farm that is going out
cultural appraised value, wide averaged $3,080 per of business.
which is its worth solely as a acre for 2017, according to He fears this is a round-
farm. the United States Depart- about way to seize prop-
That is typically 20 percent ment of Agriculture. erty and divide it.
of the full value, Ayars said. The farm real estate value “That’s what the commu-
The condition is that it must in Rhode Island was the nists did,” he said.
remain a farm, which the highest in the nation at Ayars said the state will only
state broadly defines as $13,800 per acre. own the land long enough
anything related to the Rhode Island plans to solicit to transfer it from one farm-
production of agricultural applications for its new pro- er to another, and a farm-
crops or raising livestock. gram within 45 days. The er’s decision to participate
Rhode Island plans to National Farmers Union, is completely voluntary.q

In this Tuesday, April 3, 2018, photo, farmer Sarah Turkus, of
Providence, R.I., smells a garlic plant while checking crops for
healthy growth on a leased plot of land, in Seekonk, Mass.
Associated Press

ers. two other young women
“We want these minds, in a vacant lot in Provi-
their energy, this entrepre- dence in 2011. When they
neurial spirit to stay here wanted to expand three
in Rhode Island,” said Ken years later, they could not
Ayars, chief of the Rhode find available, affordable
Island Department of Envi- land in Rhode Island. They
ronmental Management’s now lease 2 acres (0.81
agriculture division. hectares) in Seekonk, Mas-
The state does not know sachusetts, to grow veg-
exactly how many people etables, herbs and flowers.
are leaving, but officials “This program specifically,
often hear from the agri- or a program like it, would
culture community that the probably be the only way
high price of land is forc- I’d ever be able to own
ing some people out, while farmland in our area be- In this Tuesday, April 3, 2018, photo, farmer Sarah Turkus, of Providence, R.I., displays chives while
others are leasing land be- cause of the cost of the planting them on a leased plot of land, in Seekonk, Mass.
cause they cannot afford land,” she said. Associated Press