Bastrop County farmers and ranchers are struggling to make ends meet as agricultural land is developed amid the area’s rapid growth. This limits the availability of land for growing and selling food.
Local organizations teamed up with the Texas Center for Local Food to address these challenges head-on. In April, the Bastrop County Local Food Action Plan was launched.
One initiative within the plan was the inaugural Local Food Fair in November, developed by nonprofit collaborative Bastrop County Cares.
“The event served as a platform to connect stakeholders, showcase the contributions of our local farmers—including migrant families—and strengthen our shared commitment to sustainable food practices,” Executive Director Norma Mercado said.
The challenge
The Local Food Action Plan outlines initiatives ranging from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program incentives at farmers markets to agritourism, student farm collaborations, farm-to-table programs and more.
Sarah Fulton-Smith, Texas director for the American Farmland Trust, said Bastrop County is expected to lose up to 27,000 acres of agricultural land by 2040. This equates to a potential loss of 7.64%, according to data provided by the Bastrop Central Appraisal District. Consumer access is another obstacle local producers face, said Willy Culberson of Culberson Cattle Company, adding that there is nowhere to sell local food daily. Data from the Texas Center for Local Food supports Culberson’s statement, with numbers showing about 95% of the food produced in the county is not processed, sold or consumed locally.
Even if location were not an issue, families—particularly those with financial constraints—struggle with the cost and having the time to prepare meals from scratch, said Austin Moline, coordinator for the Texas Center for Local Food, or TCLF.
Big businesses, such as those belonging to Elon Musk and Alton Butler’s upcoming Bastrop 552 Film Studio, are migrating to the county due to its lower cost and higher quality of living compared to metropolitan areas such as Austin, according to data from the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation.
At the same time, green space is being paved over to support the growing population’s needs, such as master-planned communities, shopping centers and more—creating opportunities for industrial and manufacturing facilities.
Erin Flynn, co-owner of Green Gate Farms and a communitywide volunteer effort called Friends of the Land, said a prime example of this can be seen in the county’s increased gravel mining industry.
“In the past three years, gravel miners have purchased more than 1,100 acres of farmland and have begun disrupting and/or ending farming operations,” Flynn said, noting Barton Hills Farms as an example, which closed in August 2023.
Officials are utilizing the increased industrial options to help ease the property tax burden on residents. Recently, Bastrop County commissioners approved a 10-year tax abatement incentive for a $5 billion data center campus to do just that, said David Glass, Bastrop County Precinct 4 commissioner, at a Dec. 9 meeting.
What else?
Consumer affordability is another hurdle local food producers are facing.
Michelle Akindiya, Farmshare Austin education director, said that more programs are needed to help those who cannot afford local food.
Current efforts include the SNAP Double Up Food Bucks program implemented at the Elgin Farmers Market in July 2023; however, use has been minimal, Moline said.
The DUFB doubles SNAP benefits up to $30 per week for those purchasing fresh food.
According to data provided by the EFM, about half of the DUFB issued is redeemed. Moline speculated that this is due to meal planning and preparation time constraints that tend to accompany fresh food.
“This can be particularly challenging when the alternative is lower cost fast food, which is convenient, prolific, arguably designed to be addictive and is targeted at low-income families,” he said.
Because of these challenges and more, the TCLF said Bastrop has more than 2,000 farms and ranches, yet fewer than 50 grow and sell their food for local markets.
Keep in mind
The rapid loss of agricultural land can be seen throughout the county, said Shayne Bates, co-owner of Triple B Ranch.
“A lot of ranchers around here are multigenerational, and we are seeing that when the kids inherit several million dollars worth of land, they don’t know what to do with it or may not be willing to do long hours of literally hard labor,” Bates said, noting that oftentimes he has seen where those inheriting the land prefer other careers, such as office jobs. “So, ultimately, you see one of two things happen: The kids either sell it all, or they carve it up into many tracts of land, and new subdivisions pop up,” he said.
Agricultural land shrinkage is also problematic for the local ecosystem, Fulton-Smith said.
Hilary Bravenec, Bastrop County District Conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, said free conservation advice and financial assistance are available.“NRCS works one-on-one with producers to identify natural resource concerns on their land and recommend conservation practices that can be implemented to address those concerns,” Bravenec said.A few of the financial assistance programs include those related to environmental quality incentives, conservation stewardship, and agricultural management assistance, as well as easement programs. Those with questions can reach out to Bravenec at [email protected].
Lend a hand
The consensus among officials is that partnerships from the community, government, and local producers are vital.
“To have the heart for it and the love for it to produce food locally outweighs those challenges, and you find a way to get through it,” Culberson said.
