KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has lost 1.1 million acres of farmland to development between 1997 and 2017, or roughly 55,000 acres per year. That conversion has accelerated since 2017 as the state has lost 87,000 acres per year since that time. In 2020, the American Farmland Trust ranked Tennessee the fourth most threatened state for farmland conversion. 

D.J Krahwinkel, a Knox County farmer in Powell, Tenn., can see the development going on from his front porch.

 “The farm next to me used to be a good, functioning dairy farm, but now there’s 150 or more houses in its place,” Krahwinkel said. “Drive out in the countryside in Knox County and all you see is subdivision after subdivision after subdivision. We have a growing population and a fixed amount of land to live on. We just can’t grow more land.”

 Krahwinkel says it’s harder for farmers to keep their land, especially for those farmers on the verge of retirement and looking to sell the farm to help them financially during retirement.

 “Some farmer next door, say, may offer me a few thousand dollars per acre for his land, but some developer may offer me $50,000 an acre for that land,” he said. “What does that tell you?”

 According to University of Tennessee (UT) Extension studies, the top counties in Tennessee ranked by highest change in developed land are Sevier, Williamson, Rutherford, Montgomery, Davidson, Greene, Hamilton, Blount, Sumner and Hickman.

 Charley Martinez, assistant professor in the Tennessee Department of Agricultural and Resources Economics, says the situation of losing farmland in his state is a serious one.

 “Land is a limited resource,” Martinez said. “Understanding farmland conservation is complex because it impacts all of us, whether you’re talking food security or where people are going to live.”

 Milton Orr, director of the UT Extension Service office in Greene County, says that many farmers see big dollar signs when developers invade the rural countryside.

 “A lot of Tennessee farmers don’t have a structured retirement program and with the increase in real estate prices nationwide they see their land has become a good opportunity to ensure their future,” Orr said.

 Greene County has been hit hard with farmland development. According to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, more than 7,000 acres of farmland in this county alone has been lost to development the past 10 years.

 “Right now we’re feeding double the population that we did 50 years ago and doing all that on half as much land,” Orr said.

 UT research studies show that there are two reasons for the expansion in rural development: Tennessee residents moving to the rural communities and move-ins from out-of-state.

 Now the bright side. Thirty-nine percent of the land in Tennessee is farmland. And, while the overall number of farms in Tennessee declined 9.8 percent from 69,983 to 63,105, officials say local family farms are still a vibrant and vital part of local communities and economies across the state.

 Value-added agriculture in the Volunteer State continues to show strong growth, reaching a value of $142.8 million.

 “The census shows that Tennessee farmers continue to expand their activities related to value-added agriculture,” said Rob Holland, director of the Center for Profitable Agriculture and former Extension Specialist. “Consumers more than ever are interested in making connections to farms.”

 The Center for Profitable Agriculture assists Tennessee farmers in analysis, evaluation, development and sustainability of value-added agricultural enterprises.

 Holland says there are four data points measured by the census that contribute to the overall ‘value-added agriculture’ sector: the value of food sold directly to consumers, the value of food sold directly to retail markets and food hubs, the value of processed or value-added agricultural products sold, and the value of agritourism and recreational sales. He added that the market value of agricultural products sold exceeded $5.1 billion.

 “With the loss of farms and farmland being a major challenge to Tennessee agriculture, the state’s economy and quality of life, the growth in direct farm marketing, value-added processing and agritourism highlights opportunities for Tennessee farmers to survive and thrive,” said Megan Leffew, marketing specialist with the Center for Profitable Agriculture.

 The UT report shows that agriculture in Tennessee generated more than $55 billion and supported more than 280,000 jobs.