Working farms play an important role in our local communities, providing nearby access to fresh food, supporting local economies, and preserving open land in places experiencing rapid change. Once farmland is paved over, it is forever lost to agricultural use, permanently shrinking open space, food production, and livelihoods. 

The Conservation Fund’s Farms Fund program was launched to protect at-risk farmlands near growing cities, so they can continue to serve both rural and urban communities — even as development pressures intensify. By protecting at-risk farmland, we ensure that communities have access to the fresh, local food they want, while keeping farmland productive and accessible for the next generation of farmers.  

Understanding the Threats to Farmland 

Several converging trends are making farmland near large metro areas increasingly vulnerable to permanent loss: 

• An aging farmer population means many legacy farmers are retiring, and farmland is changing hands.  
• Rising land prices near metro areas are leaving the next generation of aspiring farmers with no affordable path to land access. 
• Rapid urban expansion is pushing farmland out of reach for farmers and into the hands of developers.  

As farmland disappears, the U.S. food system is becoming increasingly dominated by large agribusinesses that are disconnected from the land and vulnerable to disruption. Preserving farmland near cities is critical not only for the land itself but also for maintaining resilient, community-centered food systems. 

Our Approach

At The Conservation Fund, we use a proven conservation model to keep farmland working: 

• Buy: Acquire at-risk farmland before it’s lost to development 
• Support: Farmers with access to markets, training, and resources  
• Protect: Place permanent agricultural protections on the land so it stays a farm forever 
• Sell: Match farmland with committed farmers and provide a patient pathway to affordable ownership 

This approach ensures that land remains in agriculture, farmers can build viable businesses, and communities benefit from food produced close to home. 

Why It Works 

The Farms Fund builds on The Conservation Fund’s long history of protecting working land and applying real-world land-deal expertise. We move quickly when threats arise, and we use conservation tools that make farmland affordable and enduring for farm businesses.   

This practical land stewardship model — successful for forests, ranches, and other working landscapes — now preserves farmland in the places where it’s most threatened and most needed.