What's the Farm Worth? New UNC Asheville Project Examines Non-Agricultural Values of Farmland, Rural Landscapes in Four WNC Counties

Once populated almost entirely by family farms, Western North Carolina is seeing its farmland and rural landscapes transformed into roads, housing developments and shopping centers. Some of the most visible conversion in the region is taking place in Buncombe, Haywood, Madison and Henderson counties.

Farmers, policymakers, developers and community leaders weigh a number of factors before taking land out of agricultural use. And while decision-makers have ready access to the agricultural value of farmland, there are non-agricultural values important to the vitality of rural life they may not have had the opportunity to consider.

UNC Asheville environmental economist Leah Greden Mathews is leading an innovative research project to determine the non-agricultural values of disappearing farmland in Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood and Madison counties. The study, the first of its kind in the nation, will help establish the full value of farmland by looking at such factors as scenic beauty, environmental and wildlife benefits, and the preservation of cultural heritage.

This unusual research angle is familiar territory to Mathews, who was a chief researcher on a recent project that determined the monetary value visitors assigned to Blue Ridge Parkway views.

“Our region is experiencing dynamic growth and the accompanying farmland conversion is very likely to continue. Land use and farmland protection are on many people’s minds,” Mathews said. “Our study will help people think about why farmland is important to them, and help us all better understand the varied role that farmland plays in our communities. The end result of our work will be a mapping tool that farmers, rural communities and policymakers can use to assess the threats to farmland and better understand a specific site’s different values -- commercial, agri-tourism, heritage, and conservation.”

The three-year Farmland Values Project is funded by a $390,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.

The study comes none too soon, said Mathews, who grew up in the farming country of southern Minnesota. Between 1987 and 2002, Haywood County lost 18.9 percent of its farmland, with Henderson, Madison and Buncombe following at 17.9 percent. 17.1 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, according to the U.S.D.A. National Agricultural Statistics Service in 2004.

The first step begins in February. “We’ll be holding community focus groups and survey farmers, non-farming residents and tourists in the four-county area about their views on the benefits of farmland in our region,” said Daniel O’Leary, a sociologist at UNC Asheville who is part of the research team. “For some, it may provide a cash income and visual reminder of their family’s heritage. For others, farmland may have flood control benefits, aid in maintaining water quality and provide wildlife habitat. And for others, it may provide the scenery and quality of life they left the city for.”

After community input is complete, Appalachian State University geographer Art Rex and graduate student Greg Dobson will take the information and combine it with data they’re compiling on land use, cultural sites, forested land and horticultural areas in the four counties. As geographical information system (GIS) experts, they will build a database to identify the rural-urban edge of the area, which is where conversion of farmland is most active. The database will also show currently preserved farmland and identify specific geographic areas appropriate for local cultural heritage or agricultural districts and other designations.

The result is a GIS-based tool that farmers, planners, visitors and students can use to look at a specific site, learn its many values and see impending change. The researchers will hold a series of workshops in the four-county area once their work is complete to share the results.  

“Our goal is to make sure that all of the community’s values of farmland are documented, so that our region has a better understanding of the full value of farmland we still have. We hope this assessment tool will provide key information that will help everyone make the best possible decisions as we face continued growth,” Mathews said.

UNC Asheville’s project also collaborates with a complementary project on farm prosperity led by North Carolina State University.

For more information about UNC Asheville’s study and to participate in the community focus groups or survey, contact Leah Greden Mathews at lmathews@bulldog.unca.edu or 828/251-6551, or Daniel O’Leary at doleary@unca.edu or 828/250-3866.                                           

Media Contact:

• Merianne Epstein, UNC Asheville Public Information, 828/251-6676; 828/257-5501 pager