Growth Management and Agriculture: An Examination of Local Efforts to Manage Growth and Preserve Farmland in Wisconsin Cities,Villages, and Towns*

Abstract In this paper we examine the effectiveness of growth management policies in Wisconsin cities, villages, and towns. Unlike most other studies, we consider the impact of growth management policies on agriculture, specifically the preservation of farmland, in addition to population growth. Our analysis examines these relationships separately in towns and in cities/villages because of differences in their institutional structures. We mailed a survey to every city, village, and town in Wisconsin; the surveys were supplemented by data collected from several secondary sources. For both towns and cities/villages, growth management policies are related positively to the rate of population growth. The fiscal structure of localities proved to have a stronger effect on population growth for cities and villages than for towns. Growth management capacity had little effect for either type of municipality. The analysis of farmland preservation suggests that exclusive agriculture zoning is marginally effective in limiting farmland conversion in towns, but ineffective in cities/villages.