By Kirk Kardashian [04.21.10]
Full Article Here
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In Europe, government subsidies might pay a farmer to maintain a hedgerow, for example, or to graze sheep instead of goats. The problem with them is that they’re full of restrictions and red tape, and usually have a short term. “So we thought, Why don’t we make a separation between the ownership of the land and what’s on top of it?” Wensing recalls. Get the farmer to calculate how much it costs her to keep that hedgerow looking nice, or to create a hiking trail through a forest, and then let the public bid on it.
It turned out to be a flash of genius. The first auction drew national news coverage, and 300 people — including representatives from banks, insurance companies, philanthropic organizations and schools — showed up to place bids. “Everyone was taking part and enjoying it,” Wensing says. Since then, he has organized auctions in Amsterdam, Germany and Poland.
If you want to know how this could work in Vermont, ask Carl Russell. He’s co-owner, with Lisa McCrory, of Earthwise Farm and Forest in Bethel, as well as serving on the board of WRP.
Earthwise is a small-scale, diversified farm based on sustainable practices. On their 160 acres, Russell and McCrory raise dairy cows, beef steers, breeding sows, heritage turkeys and chickens — all of which are grass fed and managed organically. Russell uses draft horses and oxen instead of a tractor, and McCrory practices the “intuitive” agriculture of dowsing and spiritual gardening. Because the farm is small, it’s ineligible for most agricultural and conservation grants. Russell and McCrory have a clear choice of how to operate: They can think about their balance sheet first, or they can make investments in sustainable practices that benefit the environment but return almost nothing to their bottom line.
The landscape-auction idea offered a middle way. “When I got thinking about the opportunity of marketing our growth to private funding,” Russell says, “it sounded pretty interesting. We don’t want a handout, but it’s a struggle to incorporate ecological and environmental practices that benefit beyond the borders of our farm.”
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