Philanthropy Club - September 9

The Conservation Fund is reimagining how local food systems can thrive through our innovative Farms Fund program.
About this Event

Farms on the edges of cities like Bentonville and Fayetteville are disappearing quickly — replaced by housing developments, warehouses, and data centers. More than 40 acres of farmland vanish every hour across the U.S., and Arkansas alone has lost 4,800 farms and more than 166,000 acres of farmland within 5 years. As land prices soar and farmers age out of the profession, the next generation of growers faces steep barriers to finding and affording land.

At the same time, demand for fresh, healthy, local food has never been higher. Thriving farms near rapidly urbanizing areas are essential to meeting that demand — supplying schools, restaurants, and neighborhood markets while connecting people to the land that sustains them.

A New Model for Protecting Farmland

The Conservation Fund is reimagining how local food systems can thrive through our innovative Farms Fund program. We move quickly to buy at-risk farmland before it’s lost to development. We then match it with skilled, next-generation farmers who are ready to get to work and ensure it will stay a farm forever through permanent conservation.