Blevins writes:

Seth Roberts’ Weathervane Farm on the banks of Cottonwood Creek feeds dozens of families in the Upper Arkansas River Valley. His organic produce, free-range chickens and eggs, and fresh cut flowers are in high demand at the local farmers markets.

He is living his life dream. But when Roberts ponders settling permanently near Buena Vista, he laments the short-term lease for his farmland. He has looked at land to buy that was as small as 15 acres or as big as 50 — and both cost more than $750,000 in this valley, where a state research group predicts a pending “tsunami of development.”

“That permanence, that land security, is crucial,” says the 32-year-old farmer, thrusting his hands into a weathered Carhartt jacket. “We have laws to protect endangered animals. We need that kind of protection for farmland, which will soon be extinct.”

A proposed program sprouting from a farmhouse in Buena Vista could allow Roberts to establish stable roots for both his family and his vegetables in the valley. The Chaffee County Land Link program is based on programs in 21 other states that unite retiring or aging farmers with their young, energetic counterparts.

“It’s like a matchmaking service, providing access to the next generation of farmers who want to be a part of their local food system while helping older, local farmers keep their land’s agricultural heritage and get some benefit — like a steady paycheck — from it,” says David Lynch, whose Guidestone organization works to stimulate sustainable farming in the Upper Arkansas River Valley and is spearheading the Land Link plan.

Read the full article at the Denver Post.