Joint Sustainability Committee looks at agricultural land acquisition and preservation

The Austin-Travis County Food Policy Board is looking for support for a plan to preserve and acquire agricultural land in the region, and it’s turned to the Joint Sustainability Committee for help and recommendations.

The recommendations are a next step for the goals of the Austin-Travis County Food Plan, which was passed by City Council and the Travis County Commissioners Court in October 2024. The first goal enumerated in the food plan is to “Expand community food production, preserve agricultural lands, and increase the amount of farmland dedicated to regenerative food production long-term in Austin/Travis County.”

The recommendations state that “less than 0.6% of the food consumed in Travis County is produced locally, and that approximately 16.8 acres of farmland are lost daily to development pressures, underscoring the critical need for dedicated agricultural land preservation efforts.”

Marissa Bell, who is a member of the Austin Travis County Food Policy Board and the Joint Sustainability Committee, brought forth the board’s recommendations for consideration by the Joint Sustainability Committee as joint recommendations at its regular meeting on Jan. 22. The committee will consider the recommendations for potential action at its next regular meeting on Feb. 26.

Before bringing the item to the Joint Sustainability Committee, the food policy board drafted recommendations at its last regularly scheduled meeting. Bell said that the board and committee would be good partners in this matter since the recommendations align with the goals of the city’s climate equity plan.

“The Food Policy Board is recommending that the city establish a dedicated management mechanism to manage and oversee the agricultural land purchases and management contracts,” Bell said. Currently, the city has departments that manage land acquisition contracts for parklands and environmental protection, but none are designated to support agricultural lands. Creating an equivalent position or office for urban agriculture would fix this.

City Council approved a budget amendment to create a citywide land acquisition fund that authorized up to $50 million in certificates of obligation to purchase land in support of climate and environmental goals. However, these obligations came with certain limitations. Certificates of obligation cannot be used to purchase land that has economic development potential, which includes agricultural lands.

“This recommendation I’m bringing forth is really focused on finding new funding with different funds to be able to purchase and preserve agricultural land,” Bell said.

Additionally, the recommendation proposes establishing a revolving loan fund with general funds from the city’s budget.

“Over time, this can be supplemented with general obligation bonds and possibly even private and philanthropic investments,” Bell said.

This revolving loan fund would provide low-interest loans to farmers or farming organizations. As the loans are repaid, these funds can be re-invested in the issuance of new loans.

“There is also a path to ownership option there as well,” Bell said.

Lastly, the recommendation calls for the city to take inventory of land it currently owns or may acquire in the future that could be used for agricultural purposes.

Bell motioned to bring the agenda item to the Joint Sustainability Committee’s next regular meeting. It will hold further discussion on the item at its Feb. 26 meeting.

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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