by Jordan Barnes

A discussion on animal agriculture's effect on real estate value will take place during the Balancing Animal Agriculture and Communities conference on Feb. 29. Hosted by Michigan State University Extension, the conference proposes to reach out to township, county and state policy-makers as well as environmentalists, farmers and residents throughout the Great Lakes state.

The discussion on real estate value will be led by Glynn Tonsor, an assistant professor of agricultural economics at Michigan State University. The hot topic will hit close to home for many policy-makers and residents in Michigan.

By summarizing the literature and existing research on the effects of animal agriculture in the real estate market, Tonsor aims to equip policy-makers and residents to make better informed, science-based decisions influenced by how animal agriculture affects a community's economic situation. He says many decision makers are well aware of the topic but are perhaps underinformed about many existing studies.

"When a new farm comes into town or an existing one wants to expand, people's perception is that there's always a negative impact on real estate valuations," Tonsor said. "Though there is some research that confirms that, there is some that says that's not necessarily the case, and the majority of research suggests many factors, unique to a given situation, ultimately determine real estate impact."

Though there are no one-size-fits-all answers, Tonsor believes the information he will present can improve future policy discussions. Other speakers will address topics ranging from the environmental effects of animal agriculture to sustaining ecosystem integrity. The conference will also look at improvement of livestock production technology, community response to livestock production and tradeoffs within the animal agriculture domain, among other things.