URBANDALE, Iowa — When 25 farmers, environmentalists, planners, advocates and more met in Perry Iowa in late 2014, we had already met with every nonprofit working with sustainable food farmers, we had talked to every land trust, we had visited with every community leader feasible and we had drawn deeply on our collective experience.
That’s how we knew SILT would meet unmet needs for a very long time. Our multi-faceted solution
- Permanently protects land to grow healthy food.
- Permanently reduces the cost of land for beginning and disadvantaged farmers.
- Permanently heals Iowa’s soils and waters through sustainable farming.
- Draws young people back to our rural communities with farming opportunities.
- Increases the supply of healthy, ripe food into a region that imports 90 percent of its food.
- Builds a statewide network of food farms that rejuvenate our communities and rebuild connections between people.
Now little bits of SILT are showing up in the strangest places. A young farmer and landowners agree she can build and own an apartment/barn while she rents their land. When she moves she’ll sell it to the landowners. That looks a lot like SILT’s ground lease model we adopted from Equity Trust. A beloved nonprofit begins to actively solicit land from its members for the first time in its 30 years. Real estate business partners grapple with incorporating farms into housing developments while tapping public funds available for conservation.
Every innovative solution is good for all of us. Every permanently protected acre is a gift to Iowa. Landowners should always think such decisions through, ask good questions and do your research before deciding what’s best for you and your family.
When I see bits of SILT in these strange places, I look to founders like Denise O’Brien, Fred Kirschenmann, Jean Lloyd Jones and Paul Johnson. They’ve shown that being a ground breaker is exhausting work that takes a lot of faith. They’ve also taught me that when your ideas go mainstream, it’s bittersweet validation that you were right.
Land trusts are unique in that they make commitments that last for generations. We are building SILT to do just that. Taking on such a responsibility is a full time job. (Actually, a bunch of full time jobs!) So thank you for your support that allows us to do our part on the larger landscape of good people doing good things to help Iowa grow.
— Suzan, Sustainable Iowa Land Trust President
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