The report, funded in large part by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, includes:

• A summary of trends in the conversion of Minnesota’s farmland to other uses.
• Review and analysis of existing state laws regarding land use and farmland preservation and the laws’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Data illustrating how widely the programs are used and their fiscal impact on the state.
• An overview of land use planning tools commonly used to preserve farmland.
• A look at farmland preservation policies and tools used in other states, and how those models might be useful for Minnesota.
• Recommendations for streamlining and strengthening current programs.
• Recommendations of tools that can be used to establish a cohesive state framework for preserving farmland, while still allowing local communities to ensure the programs make sense for them.