Abstract
Some 4,500 centennial farms were documented in Michigan at the end of the 1980 decade. Qualifications for centennial farm status are somewhat subjectively interpreted. However, the most important criterion is based on families and descendants occupying farms for 100 years or more. Some farms are being decertified when the continuous ownership is broken by sale of the property. The necessity to sell is attributed in part to declining farm revenue, aging farmers who lack heirs and urban land pressure. Before termination from the program, some farmers have sold small parcels of their land, hired fa rm labor, or switched to high value crops. Many who remain centennial farmers are located on "essential agricultural land" and participate in Michigan's farmland preservation program.
Recommended Citation
Storwick, Susan Tosick; Ward, Robert M.; and Young, Linda
(1991)
"The Centennial Farm Program in Michigan,"
The Geographical Bulletin: Vol. 33:
Iss.
1, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/thegeographicalbulletin/vol33/iss1/4