Public Values, Private Lands

256 pp., 6 x 9

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-8078-4491-5
Published: March 1995

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Tim Lehman examines the political battles over public policies to protect farmland from urban sprawl. His detailed account clarifies three larger themes: the ongoing struggle over land use planning in this country, the emerging environmental critique of modern agriculture, and the use of social science expertise in policymaking. Federal efforts to preserve private farmlands began during the New Deal with modest soil conservation and land use initiatives, but stalled with the agricultural surpluses of the postwar decades. Land conservation interests reemerged during the 1970s as productivity plateaus, population growth, and the energy crisis heightened concern about the loss of high-quality farmland. Bureaucrats and social scientists were divided on the seriousness of the land problem. According to Lehman, the debate pitted a conservation mentality against a production mentality, virtually guaranteeing that consensus would be impossible. Land preservation initiatives of the 1970s achieved a belated and partial success with the conservation measures of the 1985 farm bill, Lehman says, but the ecological constraints on agriculture remain significant.

Originally published in 1995.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

About the Author

Tim Lehman is associate professor of history at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.
For more information about Tim Lehman, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

“A must read for individuals interested in the structure of agriculture, environmental legislation, or political science focusing on regulation.”--Journal of Political Ecology

"An incisive, sophisticated analysis of the history of federal planning for the conservation of agricultural land."--Journal of American History

"A sophisticated, well-written, and thoughtful analysis of farmland protection policy in the twentieth century."--American Historical Review

"A fresh perspective on the implications for federal regulation of privately owned agricultural land. . . . [and] a thorough analysis of how environmental policy and agricultural policy began to intersect at the federal level in the 1970s."--Environmental History

"Soundly researched in unique materials, this study of the movement to preserve farmland and the reasons for its failure in the weak provisions of the Federal Farm Act of 1985 makes an original contribution to the study of farm politics in the twentieth century and of Congressional policy-making. It is another case of losing a cause by compromising it to death and confusing its supporters; but Lehman stands by the conservationists and makes the most of his materials."--Morton Rothstein, University of California, Davis