By Marlee Jackson

For two years, Ben Looney has farmed his dream acreage — wide-open, irrigated row crop land nestled in a river bottom.

It’s a surprising reality since the Lowndes County land is hours south of the farm his grandfather founded decades ago.

“I could have probably stayed in Tanner (in Limestone County) and finished out my farming career, but my kids would not have had any opportunity to farm,” said Looney, 46. “If Looney Farms wanted to stay a farm, we had to make a move.”

That’s because development is rapidly driving change in Looney’s native Tennessee Valley.

Subdivisions, strip malls and sprawling manufacturing plants now cover formerly productive crop land. While development is welcome news for landowners willing to sell, it’s taking a toll on farmers.

“Land is a big deal,” Looney said. “You can have the best seed in the world, but if you don’t have anywhere to put it, you’re out of luck.”

The Looneys lost hundreds of rented acres in the last few years. It’s a common anecdote for farmers whose rural communities are near urban centers with booming populations. 

Take Limestone County. It’s in Alabama’s fastest-growing region and averages 10 new residents each day, per the U.S. Census. Neighboring Madison County averages 25, an uptick largely due to aerospace giant Huntsville.

The boom goes beyond the Tennessee Valley. Baldwin County on Alabama’s Gulf Coast grows by 19 residents a day, with Cullman and Lee counties making sizable gains, too.

“It just got a lot more competitive for the land because there was less of it,” said Looney, who serves on the Alabama Farmers Federation State Wheat & Feed Grain Committee. “When you hear what they got for their land, it’s life-changing money. I don’t blame them.”

Supply and demand dictate rising rates on remaining rentable farm land. It’s a pricey pill to swallow as net farm income is predicted to plunge 40% from 2022’s record high, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The squeeze means farmers are innovating to preserve their legacy. For some, that’s investing in high-value agritourism and U-pick operations.

For the Looneys, moving forward meant moving south.

Looney’s faith-filled farm family includes his wife Miranda, sons Colby and Clay, daughter-in-law Katie, grandchildren Stella-Ann and Cooper, and parents Paul and Donnis. As north Alabama acres dwindled, the Looneys pondered and prayed for next steps. Following a tip from a friend, they checked out a farm in Lowndes County, 200 miles from home.

Months later, it was theirs. 

They’re now farmer-commuters, exploring life in central Alabama while farming owned and rented land farther north.

David Lee gets it.

The cattle farmer grew up in Madison County and knew Looney from early days in the Federation, often passing Looney’s row crop fields while checking cows. Little of that land is still in production, Lee said.

“We rented a lot of land, and we were seeing that the next generation of owners didn’t prioritize the land like past generations,” said Lee, the Federation State Beef Committee chair. “We realized we needed to do something to stay profitable, so we started looking outside (north Alabama).”

In 2010, he and wife Julie moved their family and the bulk of Trinity Farms to Letohatchee — just 30 minutes from where the Looneys now farm. That location in central Alabama has been a blessing, Lee said. Extended family lives nearby, and Lee frequents nearby Interstate 65 delivering freezer beef and pork to customers in Alabama and neighboring states.

Fourteen years after their move, the Lees said access to acreage is again tight, with non-farmers seeking peace from the hubbub of town.

“It’s gotten more challenging, and it’s going to continue to get more challenging,” Lee said. “It’s just something we’re going to have to figure out. Being more productive and making our commodities worth more are the only ways we can do that.”

The Looneys are maximizing productivity in Lowndesboro. Their farm’s continuous field means they can cover up to 200 acres a day, a stark contrast to stop-and-go work fighting traffic and moving equipment to spotty, small fields around Tanner. Meanwhile, irrigation, a luxury for the historically dryland farmers, is helping increase yields.

While Looney isn’t sure what the future holds back north, he said he’s thankful to farm another day — albeit away from home.

“I think it’s going to be well worth it as the years go on,” Looney said. “I don’t see the progress in north Alabama slowing down. If anything, it’s ramping up.”