Minneapolis: Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
Abstract
Scott County contains some of the most productive agricultural soils in the metropolitan region and provides a valuable resource to produce local foods for the Twin Cities population. However, suburban growth has significantly increased land values in the rural parts of the county, creating a potential conflict between the use of land for agriculture and future urbanization. Scott County's 2030 Comprehensive Plan designates much of the existing farmland around the growing cities of Jordan, Belle Plaine, and New Prague as 'urban expansion' or 'urban transition' areas eligible for higher density development. U-CGO worked with the Scott County Department of Planning to conduct an inventory of existing agricultural uses in the county and document the impacts of agricultural production on the local economy.This project was supported by a grant from the Community Growth Options (U-CGO) program, a joint project of the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) and the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, with funding from the McKnight Foundation
