COALITION FOR AGRICULTURE'S FUTURE

 

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About The Coalition

     The Coalition believes that the continued loss of rural agricultural lands to urban development has begun to severely limit the ability of Idaho's agricultural industry to produce the sustainable volume of crops required to meet the food needs of the world.  We also are concerned that as Idaho grows, its historical agricultural heritage and traditions are being lost to urban development as concrete and asphalt in residential subdivisions replace land historically used to grow crops.

     It is a situation going on around the state as Idaho's metropolitan areas continue to grow and expand. In the Treasure Valley of southwestern Idaho it has become a very real concern.  The counties of Ada and Canyon encompass the state's largest metropolitan area and, consequently, have experienced tremendous growth at the expense of agricultural land. A graphic comparison of land use changes over the past 70 years illustrates the change.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,  Canyon County lost 25 percent of its agricultural acreage to development and Ada County lost 7 percent in just the five years from 1997 to 2002.  To get a broader perspective of urban growth into traditional Canyon County agricultural lands, view a short video of two aerial photos of the area directly south of Caldwell, Idaho. The photos, taken in 1992 and 2009, dramatically underscore why it is imperative that we address the problem of uncontrolled urban growth.

For the record:  The Coalition is not anti-grow or development.  But we do believe that Idaho and its people must find or develop new methods and strategies that incorporate a planned integration of urban and rural interest. We must not unintentionally or deliberately sacrifice agricultural land on the alter of urban development.  To do so is to risk loosing the agricultural heritage that has made Idaho the great state is is today. We also believe there is no time to waste in addressing the issue. 

Look at the photos below.  These are subdivision that cover land that used to grow agriculture products


Coalition For Agriculture’s Future ~ 55 SW 5th Ave, Suite 100,  Meridian, ID 83642

(208) 888-0988 - Fax (208) 888-4586  ~  Email: Info@agsfuture.org