American Farmland Trust was founded in 1980 to save America’s farms and ranches.
We created the conservation agriculture movement, which speaks for the land—and for the people who grow our food. As the movement’s leaders, we have three priorities: protecting agricultural land, promoting environmentally sound farming practices, and keeping farmers on the land.
AFT is the only national agricultural organization that approaches its work in this comprehensive, holistic manner. We recognize the connection between the land, forward-looking farming practices, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. We also recognize the power of combining on-the-ground projects with objective research and effective advocacy.
Today, because of AFT, millions of acres of farmland that otherwise would have been converted into house lots and shopping malls remain in farming, and tens of thousands of farmers and ranchers have adopted better farming practices.
AFT has:
Led a movement that has protected in perpetuity over 6.8 million acres of farmland and ranchland using agricultural conservation easem*nts.
Reduced development pressure on over 300 million additional acres by advancing smart land-use planning and tax policies.
Pioneered and promoted cutting-edge conservation practices on tens of thousands of farms and ranches across the nation.
Catalyzed over $117 billion in federal and state funds that enabled farmers and ranchers to protect their land and adopt new conservation practices.
Advanced better agricultural policy within federal, state, and local government.
Conducted groundbreaking research that changed America’s view of food and farming.
Crafted the widely recognized No Farms No Food® message, which connects the food we eat to the farms that grow it.
The challenges we face–including the loss of irreplaceable land and the profound impacts of climate change–demand that we do more to safeguard our farmland, our environment, and our farmers and ranchers. There is so much at stake.
Our underlying beliefs inform how we view and approach our mission
We are fully committed to farmers and ranchers
We believe in, and are fully committed to, the people who steward our land, to the millions of farmers and ranchers who tirelessly work the ground that—quite literally—sustains us.
We are fully committed to farmers and ranchers
We believe in, and are fully committed to, the people who steward our land, to the millions of farmers and ranchers who tirelessly work the ground that—quite literally—sustains us.
We believe farming is our future
We believe that farming is our future. We fervently believe that we cannot hope for thriving rural communities or a sustainable society without thriving farms that are themselves sustainable—in all senses of that word.
We believe farming is our future
We believe that farming is our future. We fervently believe that we cannot hope for thriving rural communities or a sustainable society without thriving farms that are themselves sustainable—in all senses of that word.
Our environment and economy are inseparable
We believe that our environment and our economy are inseparable. Moreover, by following sound science and sound economics, we believe that we can enhance our environment at the same time that we can foster economically-viable opportunities for future generations of farmers.
Our environment and economy are inseparable
We believe that our environment and our economy are inseparable. Moreover, by following sound science and sound economics, we believe that we can enhance our environment at the same time that we can foster economically-viable opportunities for future generations of farmers.
We believe in innovation
We believe in innovation. Farming faces great challenges that demand that we think fresh, that we explore and experiment—and that we at times follow a different path. We see the value of multiple strategies and multiple tools during this time of uncertainty, when no one knows what the future holds.
We believe in innovation
We believe in innovation. Farming faces great challenges that demand that we think fresh, that we explore and experiment—and that we at times follow a different path. We see the value of multiple strategies and multiple tools during this time of uncertainty, when no one knows what the future holds.
We believe in dialogue and collaboration
We believe in dialogue and collaboration. We seek to unite people, and to partner with a broad array of other groups. We work to cultivate the vast common ground that is possible around food and farming issues.
We believe in dialogue and collaboration
We believe in dialogue and collaboration. We seek to unite people, and to partner with a broad array of other groups. We work to cultivate the vast common ground that is possible around food and farming issues.
