Is there a private market for a farmland preservation program in Georgia?

Georgia is the fourth fastest growing state in the United States with population growth of twenty-three percent from 1990 1999. This growth is creating development pressures on Georgias farmland, yet Georgia has no specific farmland preservation program. This thesis is designed to investigate whether a Georgia farmland preservation could be successful. To determine the demand for this type of program, a citizen survey was conducted to estimate the potential budgets a private voluntary, public voluntary, and a public mandatory program could generate. A farmer survey was conducted to establish the median and regional values for farmland development rights and to estimate the potential supply of farmland for a preservation program. It was determined that both a state and a privately organized farmland preservation program would be viable in Georgia. The privately organized farmland preservation program might work better in North Georgia, where there is the greatest population pressure.