Farm Fresh Rhode Island blog

When we vote on Tuesday, what kind of landscape do we want to leave to the next generation of RI eaters?

POST-ELECTION UPDATE 11/5: The Open Space Bond passed with 2/3 of the vote.

With all the excitement over the Presidential Election, it’s easy to gloss over all of the important local issues on the RI ballot. But there are some very important ballot questions in play. And Question 2, the Open Space and Recreation Development Bond, is good news for everyone who wants to support local agriculture, food and farms.

Question 2 will provide funding to protect RI’s open spaces, farmland, watersheds, shorelines, natural parks, and natural resources. Every $1 of state funds invested will be matched by $3-$4 in federal funding, foundation grants, and charitable contributions. In total, a statewide investment of $2.5 million will generate $10 million for:

• Preserving RI’s vanishing farmland – and with it, locally grown foods
• Protecting our communities’ special open spaces and natural areas
• Creating and expanding parks when opportunities arise such as Rocky Point
• Protecting our drinking water and watersheds from pollution

This bond is a critical investment in RI agriculture.  RI has lost 80% of our farmland since 1945.  RI has the highest farmland prices in the nation and there is strong pressure to develop this land into new subdivisions. But we all know the value of a thriving agricultural community - for our health, for our quality of life, for our environment, and for our economy. Farmland cultivates $100 million in RI’s economy each year.

Today, less than 25% of our remaining farmland is protected.  In 1985, the state began a visionary Farmland Protection Program to reign in the loss of farmland, save our agricultural heritage, and keep our agricultural economy viable.  Since 1985, the state’s farmland protection program has protected 81 farms and 6,232 acres of productive farmland.  Over 25 more farmers (nearly 2,000 acres) have applied to protect their farms, been approved by the state program, and are still awaiting funding.  The 2008 US Farm Bill is providing $3-5 million each year to RI for farmland protection, but requires each state to fund a match.  Question 2 will provide some of the necessary matching funds.

If the bond does not pass, RI will not receive any of the matching funds from the federal government, foundation grants, and charitable contributions. Over $7 million in funding from outside the state will be lost. The land conservation programs will end, and the fresh foods and fields we enjoy as Rhode Islanders today may slowly become a thing of the history books for the generations to come.