Growing Land Use and Ag Law Programs in Virginia

By: Jen S. Friedel, Director, Land Use-Value Assessment Program, Associate Professor of Practice, AAEC

This summer was a season of growth and opportunity for Virginia’s Land Use-Value Assessment (LUVA) program and an emerging ag law program in AAEC. LUVA will be undertaking the development of use-value estimates for open space in the Commonwealth in addition the continuing its work on agricultural and horticultural land use-values. LUVA will welcome a new postdoc to assist with its expanding research with expertise in natural resources, conservation, and non-market valuation of local open-space amenities. This growth will expand LUVA’s outreach capabilities and expertise. As the demand for expertise in land use rapidly increases across the Commonwealth from legal, policy, and practical perspectives, so goes the need for ag law programming for producers and professionals alike.

This October, VCE is sponsoring the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ag & Resource Law Conference in Shepherdstown, WV hosted in conjunction with universities across the region at which developments in land use issues such as solar siting, farmland loss, heirs’ property, conservation easements, and more will be covered by legal experts from across the mid-Atlantic and southeast. Virginia Tech’s Southwest Center has expressed interest in hosting similar programming, incorporating underground resource issues in the heart of Virginia’s wealth of mineral resources. Virginia’ s Department of Forestry, which currently houses Virginia’s Farm Link program, is hosting a conversation this fall about the future of the program and its administration. Fitting right into the ag law niche of heirs’ property and succession planning, VCE and AAEC’s ag law program will be joining the conversation about the future of this program.  Recent presentation requests on agrivoltaics; collaboration inquiries from Virginia Mountain Lawyer’s Alliance; Virginia Tech’s Southwest Center, the Department of Forestry, and other land grant universities; legal publication requests for leasing, mineral ownership, and succession planning; and endless collaborative opportunities with organizations grasping with emerging land use issues demonstrate the growing need for a centralized hub of expertise, programming, and collaboration. VCE initiatives such as Innovative Leadership and Strengthening Your Facilitation Skills can support localities grappling with land use and complex issues affecting the societal fabric of communities will also complement this programming.

The LUVA program, AAEC’s ag law program, and VCE’s specialists and agents addressing critical land use issues are well positioned to provide the leadership and organization to address this critical need in a centralized hub of expertise. As Director of LUVA, a farmer, and attorney with a master’s in environmental law and policy with a concentration in land use law, I have a vision to create a unique program to meet the increasing needs of producers, landowners, policy makers, and legal expertise in land use. While the development of a centralized hub and collaborative space for land use expertise is very much in its infancy, I look forward to engaging with VCE specialists and agents, stakeholders, local governments, and producers and landowners to carefully outline the needs, scope, and goals of this developing program. I welcome your input, your insights, and your own visions for serving and addressing critical land use needs across the Commonwealth through this short survey.