Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Sustainable Iowa Land Trust urges Urbandale to use easements, zoning and partnerships to protect local food farms
Summary
Katie Doss of the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust told the Urbandale council that conservation easements, targeted outreach and municipal zoning changes can preserve farmland and expand urban agriculture; she urged partnerships with incubators and programs such as Choose Iowa.
Katie Doss, state coordinator for the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust (SILT), told the Urbandale City Council on April 17 that her nonprofit’s work focuses on permanently protecting Iowa farmland and increasing access for beginning farmers.
"Our mission is to permanently protect Iowa's farmland for sustainable food farming and create land access opportunities for new and beginning farmers," Doss said, describing conservation easements and reserve life‑estate agreements as tools tied to deeds that keep land in agricultural use.
Why it matters: Doss said Iowa is losing farmland to development — she cited U.S. Department of Agriculture census figures showing substantial acreage converted between 2017 and 2022 —…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
