The natural areas around us in southern Michigan are undergoing rapid change.  Farmland is disappearing at an alarming average rate of 50 acres per day.  With each farm that is sold off for development, the farm community becomes less able to sustain itself and its supporting business operations like mills, implement shops and services, and access to markets.

To protect and enhance the viability of the farm community in the long run, crucially important farmlands in Washtenaw and Jackson County are the highest priority in Legacy’s strategic plan. We are helping to create a movement within the working farm and local conservation communities.  We need your help to invest in this momentum and this farm land conservation project.

Here in the Ann Arbor area, we have a number of important public programs that target natural areas and our ‘greenbelt.’ Our community is remarkably supportive of conservation initiatives, as are all of Michigan’s residents.The need to preserve our farm lands is ‘the next frontier’ in the conservation challenge.  We continue to act resolutely to protect riverfront and parklands; we must also embark on a broader strategy to protect our working farms.We need to invest in our rural out-county communities in order to keep them economically viable while protecting the character, charm and cultural importance of those parts of our region that historically have been and still remain predominantly agricultural. By doing so we will secure not only the scenic views, rolling hills and red barns that dot our lands, but also  basic ecological functions that clean our air and our water – the woodlots and pastures, the fields of hay and soybeans and corn. The future of our farm community, our open spaces and our natural areas is at risk. Legacy Land Conservancy is deeply committed to saving our farmlands as working farms. Please join us in meeting this important challenge.

Your support will be combined with support from others throughout the region who share this commitment to the preservation of land; acre by acre, one farm at a time. Please donate to the Farmland Fund today.