Farmland, Development, and the Global Grocery List: Why What You Buy Shapes the Land You Love

Whether we like it or not, rural America is changing. Every year, more people are moving out of cities and into the countryside, drawn by the dream of space, simplicity, and a slower pace of life. That dream often includes farmland views, friendly neighbors, and the idea of living off the land—or at least near someone who does.

But the reality is this: growth is happening. More homes are being built. More farmland is being sold. And the way we respond to that growth—how we live, how we plan, and how we spend—will determine what our rural communities look like for the next generation.

Changing Landscape of Rural American

The Big Picture: We’ve Always Been Part of a Global Economy

This isn’t the first time the land has changed. When Europeans first arrived in the Americas, they weren’t just exploring—they were looking for a shortcut to the spices of Asia. They didn’t find nutmeg or cinnamon, but they found sugar, tobacco, tomatoes, and fertile ground. And they got to work, shipping crops back to Europe and pulling resources from the land almost immediately.

That global economy has never stopped. Today, your neighbor’s cornfield isn’t just feeding their family—it might be feeding a factory in China or a freezer case in Germany. Modern farmers work at a scale and speed that would’ve been unthinkable just 70 years ago. The mules are long gone. In their place are GPS-guided tractors and harvesters the size of battleships. These machines look more like spaceships than anything you’d expect to find on a backroad.

But here’s what we often forget: those farms—and those machines—aren’t just built for exporting grain. They can feed your family, too. If we create the right infrastructure and local demand, those same fields can help provide food right here, not just on Saturday mornings at the farmers market, but every day of the week.

Global Food Chain

Farmland Is a Business, Not a Backdrop

A lot of folks say they love farmland. They love the look of it, the quiet of it, the idea of it. But farms aren’t just scenery. They’re businesses. And just like any business, they have to make money to survive.

When a piece of farmland is sold and turned into a subdivision, it’s easy to point fingers at the developer. But more often than not, the farmer didn’t sell because they wanted to. They sold because the farm couldn’t make enough money to stay afloat. Maybe their kids didn’t want to take it over. Maybe the market prices were too low. Maybe they were just plain worn out.

Whatever the reason, the land had to produce something—and when the crops couldn’t cut it, houses became the more profitable crop.

If we want to save farmland, we have to stop treating it like a museum and start treating it like what it is: an economic engine. And we have to do more than just fight development. We have to make farming worth it again.

Rethinking How We Grow

The problem isn’t just that growth is happening—it’s how it’s happening.

Instead of building houses here, there, and everywhere across old fields and cow pastures, what if we planned growth more intentionally? In Europe, villages are built close together, surrounded by the land that feeds them. People live in community, and farmers still farm.

That’s not a bad model to consider. Because whether it’s 50 houses per acre or five houses on five acres—if it’s paved over, that land is out of production. Forever.

So instead of sprawling, let’s be smart. Let’s grow with purpose. Let’s cluster neighborhoods, protect prime farmland, and build systems that help farmers stay on their land.

The Power of Your Fork

Want to keep farmland farmland? Start with what’s on your plate.

Buy from your local farmer. Eat what’s in season. Cook at home. Ask your grocery store to carry local options. Support food hubs and regional processing centers. The more demand we create for local food, the more opportunity farmers have to shift from commodity crops to community crops.

Because yes, farmland can feed the world—but it should also feed us.

We often talk about saving the family farm like it’s some kind of charity project. It’s not. It’s about keeping skilled people in business. People who know how to grow food, manage land, and care for soil and water. These people don’t just feed us—they steward the land we say we love.

And your fork? It’s your vote. Every time you spend money on food, you’re choosing what kind of agriculture you support. You’re choosing whether farmland stays farmland—or becomes a cul-de-sac with a view.

Conservation Isn’t Just About Easements

You’ll hear talk about farmland trusts and conservation easements. These are legal agreements that prevent land from being developed—forever. The farmer keeps the land, but gives up the right to turn it into anything other than farmland. Sometimes they’re paid. Sometimes they get tax breaks.

They can work well. But they’re expensive, complicated, and often geared toward big tracts of land or legacy estates.

Tennessee Dirt

What if we had a simpler solution?

What if local governments and landowners used deed restrictions to protect agricultural use? What if we invested in infrastructure—local meat processing, cold storage, delivery systems—that helped make farming profitable again?

It’s not just about protecting land. It’s about protecting the ability to farm it.

If we really want to save farmland, we have to do more than say we love it. We have to create an economy where it can thrive.

So buy local. Vote with your fork. Support smart growth. And remember: those wide open spaces aren’t just pretty to look at. They’re feeding you, your neighbors, and the world.

Let’s make sure they can keep doing it.

Jennifer Davis writes from her home in Tennessee.

Jennifer Davis