Jun 2, 2019
On episode 81 of Sourcing Matters we welcome John Piotti, CEO &
President of American Farmland Trust. American Farmland Trust
(AFT) is an organization that works to protect and conserve
farmland throughout the United States. Headquartered in Washington,
D.C, – AFT is staffed and governed by farmers, policy experts,
researchers and scientists. With the call to action of “Join
the Movement”, “Save a Family Farm”, and “Stay Informed” – American
Farmland Trust seeks to engage diverse stakeholders in evaluating:
What will happen to the nation’s food supply if we continue to
wastefully develop our best farm & ranch land?
By the late 1970s, Peggy Rockefeller, a passionate farmer and
active philanthropist, had become frustrated that none of the major
environmental or agricultural organizations were effectively
applying the emerging tools of land conservation to agriculture.
She pulled together a brain trust to explore what could be
done. This first-of-its-kind analysis of how and why America
was losing farmland had recently been completed by USDA and the
President’s Council on Environmental Quality. The group
recognized the serious threat posed by farmland loss and concluded
that our nation needed a new kind of organization, one that stood
at the intersection of agriculture and the environment. It would
take a unique and highly innovative organization to operate
effectively in this previously unexplored realm. But there was
clearly a void that needed to be filled. They formally chartered
American Farmland Trust in 1980.
John Piotti joined American Farmland Trust as president and CEO in
July 2016, bringing more than 25 years of executive management and
public policy experience to the organization. Prior, John
served as president and CEO of Maine Farmland Trust for 10 years.
Under his leadership, Maine Farmland Trust became an award-winning
statewide nonprofit organization, helping over 500 Maine farms
remain viable. Piotti has earned a reputation as a nonpartisan
problem-solver; as a Statesman, an Eisenhower Fellow – and – as a
leader in future food that has helped stabilize a regional dairy
industry, and procure funding to protect working waterfronts & our
natural lands. John holds three degrees from the MIT, in
engineering, public policy, and management.
TuneIn to our 50 minute conversation to hear more about how the
practice of American Farmland Trust has now cast over 6,500,000
acres of farmland in the United States into perpetual
conservation. With John’s focus on conservation
(regenerative) agriculture practice of these lands, and more
– AFT will remain a pillar in American farmland access, and its
management for the foreseeable future.