Farmers Want Help; County Wants Land for Growth
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By Dean Baker, The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.  Jun. 3--Traditional commercial farms continue to disappear under subdivisions and commercial nodes in Clark and Cowlitz counties, while only scattered major farms remain in business.
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Peasants want to own their land and have organized rallies in several provinces. More are planned.
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By John Dickey, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.  Feb. 24--Sutter County will have to come up with millions of dollars if it hopes to secure some of the more than $4 billion in Proposition 1E flood protection money.   A local citizens panel will figure out how.
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By Amy Choate-Nielsen Deseret Morning News  PROVO -- Utah County officials may allow a gravel-pit company to keep digging in an area that isn't zoned for industrial use -- but not if the neighbors can help it.
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By John Holland, The Modesto Bee, Calif.  Sep. 9--Proposed ways of protecting farming in Stanislaus County will go before the public Tuesday and Sept. 18. County officials have drafted revisions to the agricultural element of the general plan.
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By Erika Pesantes, South Florida Sun-Sentinel  Mar. 12--WEST BOYNTON -- A controversial development that offered affordable housing before Palm Beach County made it a requirement is welcoming residents onto the former site of a 42-acre bell pepper farm.
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By Nancy Gaarder, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.  Feb. 19--Nature would be treated with a gentler hand when some of the remaining rural areas of Douglas County are developed, under policies up for approval by the county.
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By Josh Mitchell, The Baltimore Sun  Feb. 5--Baltimore County officials say parkland is so scarce in some areas that they're willing to pay premium dollars when it becomes available.
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By Claudia Mel, The Monterey County Herald, Calif.  Sep. 15--It's a commonly held view that farm property owners, left to their own devices, would want their land to be zoned as residential so they could reap the benefits of asking for higher prices for it.
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By Jacob Luecke, Columbia Daily Tribune, Mo.  Dec. 9--A group of Boone County residents plan to lobby the Missouri General Assembly next year to legalize a new tax that could be used to safeguard farms from development.
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By Will Jones and Olympia Meola, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.  Jun. 18--Henrico County officials are considering paying millions of dollars above appraised value for land in Short Pump.   If they stroke the check, it won't be the first time.
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By Reid Magney, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.  Mar. 6--La Crosse County is moving slowly toward preserving farmland by buying development rights.   Monday, the county board voted to start work on a pilot program for 2008.
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By Cynthia Sewell, The Idaho Statesman, Boise  Mar. 4--A group of farmers, ranchers, timber companies, conservationists and sportsmen are working together to save farm and ranch land from development.
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Plans to develop Heart of the Triad acres will be met with enthusiasm by many landowners who find their property more valuable. For others, however, HOT looks like a threat to a traditional way of life.
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By Marc Benjamin, The Fresno Bee, Calif.  Dec. 11--With water wells running dry and well contamination reported in some areas, Fresno County is working to secure rights to 5,000 acre-feet of water each year.
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The Octoraro Watershed Association is getting a grant to continue partnering with farmers in Lancaster and Chester counties for reforestation and stream buffer restoration projects.
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Dave Purpura knew he always wanted to be a farmer. But when the time came for him to make good on his dream and begin growing organic produce on five acres in Middleborough, he jumped in without fully understanding the business.