The Rural Planning Wheel
Preservation of Agricultural Land

Issues to Consider

Planning for the preservation of farmland is a complex issue. One cannot consider any of the issues listed below in isolation of each other - they need to be considered together. There is a need to consider the range of lot sizes, land use, land suitability, locational factors, the critical mass of farmland and other issues related to agriculture. All of these must be considered when developing planning policies for the retention of farmland. Following is a discussion of those issues considered to be important when planning for agricultural land use. Most importantly, there must be a detailed land use survey and lot size analysis so that a clear understanding is gained of the location, holding size and spatial distribution of the rural land uses.

Lot Size

The size of the lots within a locality is perhaps the most important factor when considering planning for agricultural land use. This applies to the land in question as well as the sizes of the surrounding lots. If there is insufficient land to practice a particular agricultural use which may be suitable for that locality then the agricultural use should perhaps not be practised within that locality. Other uses should be considered for the localities, which have a high proportion of smaller allotment sizes. We should also consider the impact of a number of small lots on the agricultural uses as well. The opposite case should then be considered.

Land Use

When planning for the retention of farmland, the compatibility of the surrounding land use must be considered. It is the surrounding land uses, which will contribute to the generation of Rural Land Use Conflict 1 issues. If a locality has a predominance of, for example rural residential development, then perhaps consideration should be given to the potential of that land for agricultural zoning. If the uses are not compatible the range of conflicts discussed earlier have the potential to be realised. Therefore, the land should not be zoned for agriculture but set aside for rural residential use and vice versa.

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Land Suitability

The use of a land classification system such as the one used by NSW Agriculture allows land to be identified as being suitable for agricultural zoning. It is the suitable land; therefore that should be protected for future use for agricultural production. This is especially so for land, which is identified as being suitable for full time, cropping and soil based agricultural uses. As highlighted above, there is a need for a mixture of land suitability classes as the landscape of Australia very rarely has a large contiguous landmass of high-class land.

Locational Factors

Locational Factors must be considered when planning for agricultural production areas. The type of soil, slope of the land and climate are all-important. It also needs to be close to a road system, which allows for easy access to the markets and also for delivery of raw material. The location of agricultural production areas to watercourses and river systems is another important factor, which must be considered. Such issues as run off from heavily tilled soil as well as pesticide and herbicide run off need to be considered, as does the source of irrigation water.

The Critical Mass of Farmland

There is a need to consider what is termed the "critical mass" of farmland. This refers to the amount of farms that are needed to support each other and the other industries that are dependent on the farms for their livelihood. This is very difficult to define in broad terms but needs to be considered when assessing the potential of land for agricultural use.

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1. Rural Land Use Conflict (Go there now...)