Founded in 1980 by a group of farmers and conservationists concerned about the rapid loss of the nation's farmland to development, American Farmland Trust (AFT) is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting our nation's strategic agricultural resources.



Working with farmers and ranchers, political leaders and community activists, AFT has helped to permanently protect more than a million acres of America's best farm and ranch land.



We have four key strategies for saving the land that sustains us:



- Transform U.S. farm policy to strengthen the future of American agriculture;

- Protect the best land by supporting effective state and local farmland protection initiatives;

- Plan for agriculture to keep farming viable and help communities balance growth while protecting working land;

- Keep the land healthy and productive by encouraging stewardship practices that safeguard our nation's natural resources.



Our Mission



The mission of American Farmland Trust is to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that lead to a healthy environment.



Program Overview:



American Farmland Trust is committed to protecting the nation's best farm and ranch land and improving the economic viability of agriculture. During the past 25 years, AFT helped to stimulate the creation of 27 state-level farmland protection programs, as well as countless local ordinances and programs that give landowners the tools they need to keep their land in farming. We've been the catalyst for unprecedented levels of funding for federal programs that protect farmland and improve the environment.



AFT works with federal, state and local leaders and communities to develop legislation, implement policies and execute programs that keep farmers on their land and protect our environment.