Tennessee is losing its farmland

Many scenes take place in the hit television show, "Yellowstone," when Kevin Costner's gruff-voiced character — the seventh generation owner of the Yellowstone Ranch in Montana — looks out across the mountains and painstakingly vows to fight for his land with lines like "This is my home. I made a promise to protect it. And I will."It's a feeling we all can probably relate to at least once in our lives. Maybe that's how you felt about your childhood home, or the home you live in now. Maybe it's the feeling you get about your hometown. It's how this fictional cowboy character felt every time he looked across his Montana ranch. It's how so many of us feel each time we glance at the rolling, green hills of Northeast Tennessee we call home.But, like me, you've likely noticed it's starting to look a bit different. Maybe it's not even "starting" to. It has for a while now.Rolling hills are becoming rows of homes. Barns and sprawling pasture lands have "for sale" signs up on their colossal red walls and strong wooden fenceposts that have long kept the livestock in and kept watch over our Tennessee backroads. Over the past few years, those for sale signs haven't been up for long.Land has been bought and sold faster than John Dutton could say "save the ranch." Our fields have seen bulldozers turning up dirt and clay for a new set of homes to come. In fact, my favorite long way home now includes two such construction sites — one across from my very favorite little valley I pray stays just the way it is.While we might not all be John Duttons eyeing our generational land on the brink of becoming an airport, we face a similar battle. We are losing our farmlands. And we're losing them fast.During Gov. Bill Lee's State of the State Address last month, he said Tennessee is losing 10 acres of farmland every hour. "Which is a staggering number when agriculture is our No. 1 industry," he said.According to the American Farmland Trust, if current trends continue, by 2040 as many as 1,014,568 acres of Tennessee farmland may be paved over, fragmented or compromised. That is the equivalent of losing 8,669 farms, $258 million in farm output and 14,595 jobs based on county averages. The AFT also ranks Tennessee the fourth most threatened state in the U.S. to lose farmland.We are losing our farmland to developments. Growth has certainly impacted Tennessee and our region. Jonesborough saw more growth than any other area around the Tri-Cities with 16.02% growth between 2010 and 2020, according to U.S. Census results. That's a large margin for a small town, especially compared to Kingsport, which grew by 15.01%. Meanwhile, according to Census figures, Johnson City grew by 12.5% and Bristol, Tennessee by 1.67% during the same period.Growth has driven the development we've seen throughout the region, but our farmland loss isn't entirely attributed to growth.The sad truth is, our farmers are aging. According to the Farm Bureau, it is estimated there are more than four times as many farmers who are age 65 and older as there are farmers under age 35 across the U.S. — and more than 40 percent of American farmland is expected to transition ownership by 2040.When older generations leave their farmland to their kids, too often the heirs choose not to farm. Instead, they sell the land and make a profit when developers come calling. You can't blame them for choosing the money. Not to mention the shift in our society where education and a college degree was seen as the key to a better future. It's has helped develop so much of our society and it's improved livelihoods for many. I am thankful we have more career options than we did 100 years ago. But, as you might have seen on a bumper sticker a time or two, if we have no farms, we have no food.As we lose farms, we see more lab-grown meat. We also forgo any independence and sustainability we might still have from other countries. We still need farmers — now maybe more than ever before.Tennessee is already an ideal place for farmers with no state income taxes and deals such as the Greenbelt Law, allowing farm and forest landowners to pay taxes on the use value of the property rather than the market value. But I hope Tennesseans can make it even more appealing to continue agricultural traditions and a place for young farmers to strike new ones in the Volunteer State.During Gov. Lee's State of the State Address, he pushed for a $25 million farmland conservation fund to establish a grant program for farmers who aim to protect their land from development through a permanent conservation easement. Tennessee SB 207 is currently up for consideration by the General Assembly.Locally, I hope our leaders take careful consideration of the developments proposed for Jonesborough, Washington County and the region. We still have land zoned for agriculture. I hope it stays that way. And I hope when proposed plans to change a property's zone come about, commissioners, aldermen and mayors take the time to consider what might be coming to a once beautiful and bountiful farm or pastureland. Sure, it's a free market, and contrary to popular belief, our local leaders can't decide if a Wendy's or a Dairy Queen is coming to town. But our elected officials can do their due diligence when it comes to rezoning and the like and consider creative options to help conserve local land.As for the rest of us, we can throw our support behind our local farms and farmers. Consider buying local dairy, or find out which grocery stores still utilize local dairy. Find a local farmer offering the meats you're looking for. We are blessed with numerous local and regional options. Browse an upcoming farmers market (Jonesborough Locally Grown is even offering winter farmers markets until the spring season picks up). And if you can't make it to a farmers market, find an alternative to consider, such as Boones Street Market with its promise to offer produce and more grown primarily within 100 miles of Jonesborough. There's also places like Troyer's that offer many local options.I certainly don't have all the answers. If you'd like to share your questions, concerns or thoughts please send your letters to the editor by email to mwaters@sixriversmedia.com or by mail to 125 Jackson Blvd., Suite 15, Jonesborough, TN 37659.In the meantime, I hope we remember to honor the land we were given to protect. I hope we're good stewards of that land. I hope we remember what it's supposed to look like each time you gaze upon a rolling Tennessee Hill.I hope you put even a fourth of the effort (the fictional but bold) John Dutton did into saving his ranch. And I hope we're able to look out over our homeland and know this: it's protected.•••Marina Waters is the managing editor of the Herald & Tribune and the editor of Tri-Cities Scene.