Land Access
The Non-Tragedy of the Commons
Cooperative Ownership of Farmland Offers Alternative Access to Acres By Robin Moore
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working lives and that can be passed on. Farmers build equity by investing in their business rather than the mortgage, by owning any buildings or improvements they add to the land, and by having dependable, long-term tenure on agricultural land. The commons are governed and supported by a board consisting of one-third community members, one-third Agrarian Trust members, and one-third farmers who are part of the commons. The focus is on sustainable, soil-building practices, as well as sustainable community building practices and support for the farmers.
by, stewarded for, and contributes to the surrounding community. Under this model, poor stewardship of the farm is seen as damaging to the community, and community members hold each other accountable as well as support each other in the healing of the land. (The Agrarian Trust’s website has details about structure, equity building, and other aspects of agrarian commons operations, which are being created all over the country: agrariantrust.org.) It sounds so simple, but it’s complicated to rebuild and recreate land access under the “commons” model. For one thing, it runs counter to what most of us know about land ownership, financial value, wealth building, land tenure, independence, and success. Federal, state, and local laws, as well as ordinances and support structures, are all built for private ownership. That means quite a lot of work goes into finding legal paths for a different structure that includes the community’s as well as the individual’s values. The commons model is not the answer for everyone. There are many communities and individuals who prefer private ownership for good reasons, including a desire to control land use and the building of wealth. For others, this is a much needed path to altering our tendency to monetize land. There’s no mistake: it takes a lot of effort to step off the well-beaten path of private land ownership. For the Minnesota Agrarian Commons, it has taken over a year-and-a-half to get to the point where we are ready to enroll land into a commons situation and have a group of farmers ready to lease that land.
eet Sasa Organic Farms, a collective of Kenyan farmers. Sasa (sasaorganicfarms.com) is five family farms: Dawn2Dusk Organic Farms, Lisaviole Farms, Lisaviole Organic Farms, Green Joy Farm, Gedef Organic Farm, and Laurens Organic Farm. They provide Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares, produce, and seedlings to customers in and around Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Like many beginning farmers, their goal is to improve the health of a diversified Minnesota population and preserve farmland for future generations. They also strive to grow for their families and communities culturally appropriate food that cannot always be found in American supermarkets. Sasa farmers have been supported by the work of Moses Monyami and Lonah, who mentor new agrarians on their land in Cambridge, Minn. But the Sasa farmers are quickly outgrowing the incubator acres and are ready to establish themselves in long-term relationship with farmland and begin to grow their businesses serving Minnesota One Farm’s Land Needs communities. Currently, Minnesota AgrarMost beginning farmers face Farmers working on the Sasa Organic Farms operation near Cambridge, ian Commons (agrariantrust.org/ a similar dilemma: once they get Minn. They’ve outgrown their incubator acres and are seeking a permanent commons/minnesota-agrarianenough experience to launch a commons) is working to help home for their agricultural enterprises. (Photo courtesy of Sasa) going enterprise, they run into the with Sasa Organic Farms’ land brick wall of permanent access to land. This access needs. The Agrarian Trust would like The Commons Concept is especially true for farmers of color, who to identify, with the collaboration of the Sasa Land commons are not a new concept. Inhave less generational wealth and often lack farmers and a willing landowner, land that digenous cultures in this country and abroad, a background in generational land ownerwould fulfill the needs of the Sasa collective for whom land ownership is a settler/coship. They also have less access to traditionand put its members in a good position to lonial imposition, practiced for millennia al and alternative sources of credit. succeed with their collective farm ventures. (and still practice) community land relationThis is where the Agrarian Trust can play The landowner could either gift the land ships that do not involve private ownership. a role. I am part of a group of people workto Agrarian Trust, enter into a bargain sale Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom researched ing in Minnesota to use the “land commons” (below market value), or sell the land to and published important work (https://bit. model as a way to provide access to acres the Trust at market value, depending on the ly/2XmUrDu) on sustainable community for folks like the Sasa farmers. A “comlandowner’s needs. commons in answer to a dominant belief mons” creates a perpetual trust protecting Agrarian Trust, working with partners, that such cooperative arrangements were the land for agricultural stewardship while doomed to failure. removing it from private ownership, and In a commons situation, land is held farmers are given leases that last for their Commons, see page 21…
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No. 2, 2021
The Land Stewardship Letter
