In the words of Steve Ventura, professor of soil science and environmental studies and director of University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Land Information and Computer Graphics Facility:
“… once productive farmland is converted to residential or commercial use, it’s converted forever. It’s practically impossible to bring it back.”
Good local food depends on farming and farming requires clean, fertile soils in functional working landscapes. At this point, many of the most valuable assets (soil, water, buffers, etc.) are not clearly identified and integrated as principle landscape components which are best used for agriculture.
Steve’s technology, in partnership with farm preservation programs, can delineate the primary land resource units for inclusion in local plans. Read more here.