Land Tenure and Conservation in Agriculture

Why Our Work is Needed

Agricultural land management decisions are situated within a complex and interconnected system, influenced by a suite of social and economic factors, many of which are difficult to control. Landowners are in a unique position to drive stewardship of their land via proactive land management focused on soil health and other conservation-oriented productivity indicators. Funded by the Walton Family Foundation, Delta Institute has focused on land ownership and tenure as levers to increase conservation and rebuild soil health throughout the Midwest, where over 50 percent of the agricultural land is leased. 

Brief Overview of What We’re Doing

Delta Institute released our report, Land Tenure and Conservation in Agriculture: Creating Incentives for Landowners. This report, which includes related tools and resources geared toward the unique needs of owners/operators of working lands, explores the network of stakeholders, policies, and institutions through which soil health can be linked to the value of the land and ultimately serve as an incentive to change management of that land.

Although soil health and management practices are not currently explicitly integrated into the land valuation system, we identify opportunities where such linkages can be created and utilized to rebuild soil health. 

Project Materials and Resources

The additional resources below contain additional resources related to land valuation through the lens of soil health and directly related health- and conservation-focused land management:

Soil Health

Using tools that test soil health and applying what we learn presents an opportunity to restore soil health and improve land management. The resources in this section help to plan and implement soil health testing practices.
 

Conservation Leasing

As a binding contract, the lease agreement is the key instrument that land managers and owners can use to ensure that their land is managed in a certain way. The resources in this section provide key information to make decisions about lease agreements.