Dear Agriculture, A few months ago, I announced that I will be stepping down as president of American Farmland Trust this summer. After 23 years at the helm of this wonderful organization, my family and I have decided it’s time for us to return to the peaceful hills and meadows of our family’s ranch in Marin County, California, where we will spend some time re-focusing attention on the farm.
As I return to the farm that has been in my family for four generations, I will also be returning to the farm life that I left more than two decades ago, when I was a young dairy farmer tapped to be the head of a fledging national farmland conservation organization. I may have known a lot more about Holstein cows than Washington politics or running a not-for-profit organization back then, but my fellow AFT founders—Peggy Rockefeller, Douglas Wheeler, Pat Noonan—had already set AFT on course to help farmers and communities who were grappling with rampant sprawl that was consuming their local farms and farmland.
More than two decades later, much has been accomplished—and there remains much to do. The on-going dedication of a dynamic, diverse Board and an experienced professional staff has helped AFT:
- Grow from two offices and six staff in 1985 to become the nation’s leading farmland protection organization with members in every state.
- Help 27 states and hundreds of local communities create and improve programs to protect farmland from development.
- Undertake pioneering studies such as Farming on the Edge and Cost of Community Services to tell the full story of farmland loss—highlighting the importance of agriculture near our cities, where much of our food is grown.
- Create the nation’s first national information clearinghouse, The Farmland Information Center, to collect and distribute information and raise awareness about what we lose when farm and ranch land disappears and to offer technical assistance to farmers, land trusts and local and state officials across the nation.
- Establish the highly regarded Center for Agriculture in the Environment at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, as the nation’s leading private-sector center for research into improved public policies and practices that help farmers protect their land and establish sustainable practices that contribute to a healthier environment.
- Play a critical role in integrating conservation policy with federal farm policy in every federal farm bill since 1981. An afterthought in 1980, conservation is now a key component of federal farm policy, in part, due to AFT’s work.
I know that AFT could not have had all these successes without you—loyal supporters who have been with us every step of the way, along with our staff, and board members. You can also be assured that I will continue to stay involved with American Farmland Trust in the years to come, and in advancing the cause of agriculture from my own farm to the federal policy level.
Please join me and AFT’s board of directors in welcoming AFT’s new president: Jon Scholl. Jon is a farmer from Illinois who understands the challenges that today’s farmers face. His career experiences with farm organizations, and more recently at EPA, have prepared him for this role. I am confident you will find that he embodies AFT’s commitment to both agriculture and the environment.
Thank you for all you have done to support America’s farms and farmland, and know that American Farmland Trust will continue its vital work as a national leader in farm and ranch land conservation, environmental stewardship and local food systems for years to come.
Sincerely,
Ralph Grossi
President
American Farmland Trust
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