WHAT ARE SOME REASONS FOR PRESERVING PRIME FARMLAND AS FAR AS NATIONAL WELFARE IS CONCERNED?
While the “experts” may differ somewhat as to the world’s ability to feed itself in the years ahead, most would agree that continued loss of highly productive agricultural land is undesirable. Here are some strong arguments for preserving land as a contingency against possible difficulties that may develop in food production. 1. Availability of energy will continue to be a problem in the future. If increasing amounts of energy are to come from biomass harvested off the land, then the nearly level, non-erosive prime lands will support intensive production of biomass far better than rolling lands. Prime agricultural land can produce both food and biomass for energy in the cheapest, most efficient manner. 2. A number of scientists feel that the earth’s climate may be changing to a cooler, shorter season, particularly in the Corn Belt. If this is correct, then steps must be taken in this generation to insure that future generations have sufficient opportunity to grow food. Preserving those
