A community land trust project to preserve a productive Missoula vegetable farm and ensure it will always be affordable for farmers.
Trust Montana is nearing the finish line of a two-year effort to purchase and protect Corner Farm.
Corner Farm is a productive 8-acre farm that was leased and operated by Clark Fork Organics for over 15 years before it was put on the market for development in 2020. Fortunately, the farm was purchased by a conservation-focused community member. To protect the farm from development, the owner is developing homes on the less-productive edge of the land while selling the agricultural land to Trust Montana for long-term stewardship.
We now have a funding gap of just $45,807
You can help us reach the finish line! A donation of any size will help us purchase and protect this vital piece of agricultural land for the Missoula community.
Trust Montana, Inc. is a 501(c)3, and all donations are tax deductible.
Corner Farm will be the first permanently affordable farm in Montana, protected by a community land trust.
Trust Montana will hold the land for the benefit of the community, ensuring it is always affordable and actively-farmed.
Trust Land Farm is now operating a productive vegetable farm on the property and will continue to lease the land at an affordable price after Trust Montana takes ownership.
More information about the project
Why is Corner Farm So Important?
Across the world, valuable farmland is rapidly being converted to other uses, especially housing. In the United States alone, an estimated average of 2,000 acres of farmland a day were lost or degraded from 2001-2016.
CLTs have a long history of preserving vital farmland. Although CLTs now operate across the United States primarily as a solution to the housing affordability crisis, ensuring local control of land for farmers is at the heart of CLT history. The first CLT in the U.S. is a farm that was established by civil rights leaders in the 1960s to provide affordable land for Black sharecroppers in Georgia. Read about New Communities, Inc.
Prime farmland has unique soils that are excellent for growing the food we all need to survive. It’s also typically flat and well-drained, making it highly desirable for development. Yet, we can have houses without sprawling across the countryside and paving over these finite, irreplaceable resources. There are alternatives.
Corner Farm Village demonstrates one alternative to business-as-usual by protecting valuable farmland, by nurturing a new generation of farmers to care for the land, and by providing climate-smart homes for the community.
This high-quality, prime agricultural soil (Grantsdale Loam) has been farmed organically for 15 years. The riparian zone provides much needed flood control and habitat.
The City of Missoula’s growth policy has identified this area as valuable, prime agricultural land. The urban agriculture overlay recognizes the importance of agriculture in Missoula both historically and for its potential to provide for the future food needs of the community. The overlay supports the conservation of agricultural land through the use of conservation and clustering of development to ensure that this critical resource is available. Small scale agricultural operations are encouraged along with limited associated retail on site.
The collective goals of the project partners are to:
- Strengthen the resilience of our local and regional food system.
- Utilize the CLT tool for ag land preservation in Montana for the first time – permanently protecting the land while ensuring its affordability for farmers.
- Permanently protect an eight-acre farm that has prime ag soils and provides healthy food for our community.
- Provide a young farmer with an affordable, long-term, ground lease.
- Enhance farm viability with a farm stand and café featuring local food.
- Care for the land without synthetic chemicals and promote ecological diversity.
- Conserve the riparian area and protect water resources.
- Provide natural flood control.
- Respect the path the Séliš-Ql̓ispé have always shown us in caring for the land and waters.
Thank you to our generous corporate donors:
