The slogan of the former Office of the Indiana Commissioner of Agriculture was “It All Starts With the Land,” a concept that federal, state and local governments all too quickly forget. Preserving farmland is something that gets a lot of lip service but precious little funding. There is always a new interstate, pipeline, industrial park, housing development, or recreational project that needs land. Efforts to protect large parcels of farmland from development have been met with either hostility or indifference… until now.

Suddenly, how many acres of land farmers are planting to corn is front page news. Suddenly, raising enough crops to satisfy our food, feed and fuel needs is the fodder for the television talk shows and big city newspaper editorials.

In the 1870s, farmland was also a subject of public discussion. It was the beginning of the draining of the Grand Kankakee Marsh in northwest Indiana. Completed in 1917, this program changed the face of several counties and produced over a million acres of some of the most fertile and productive farmland in the world. This land today has some of the highest yielding corn and soybeans grown in the United States and will help move the nation toward a renewable energy future. Environmental interests see things differently. They would have preferred this land have been left as it was, a 1.9 million acre swamp and home to waterfowl and wildlife. In fact, efforts are underway to reclaim a small part of the marsh and return it to its original condition.

The public debate on how we use our farmland is in its early stages, but, as demand increases for more and varied kinds of crops, the issue of where we produce these raw materials will continue to be debated.

As with most things, as the demand goes up so does the price. We have seen the price of land increase dramatically in just the past year. During 2006 the value of Indiana farmland rose 15.6 percent, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. The survey found that during the last quarter of 2006 alone, the price of farmland in 5 Midwestern states increased by 5 percent. Land prices in the former Kankakee Marsh are averaging $5,000 to $6,000 an acre.

While the increasing demand for ethanol is the catalyst for this land rush, it is not the only cause.  Production of a variety of crops is also on the rise. Plantings of hay are forecast to be up over 40 percent this year. The demand for transfat free oil has prompted a push for a new variety of soybean. As cellulosic ethanol production begins, several new field crops will need to be grown.  In short, we have a lot to grow and will need lots of land on which to grow it.

Agriculture must be proactive in shaping this land use debate. We must educate and inform our elected leaders and non-farm neighbors about land use issues. We also must let them be part of the debate. As we look ahead to the amazing future that agriculture has, let us remember, “it all begins with the land.”

The views and opinons expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Gary Truitt may write to him in care of this publication.