Year of Award
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Science (MS)
Degree Name
Environmental Studies
Department or School/College
Environmental Studies
Committee Chair
Margiana Petersen-Rockney
Commitee Members
Mark Sundeen, Sarah Halvorson
Keywords
land, farmland access, community land trust, land justice
Subject Categories
Agriculture | Environmental Studies | Place and Environment
Abstract
Access to affordable, secure land is consistently cited as a barrier for farmers in the U.S., prompting a proliferation of land access initiatives. Yet it is unclear if these initiatives confront the exclusionary private property regime underlying these barriers. This thesis critically assesses alternatives to private ownership of land and explores the variation in how land access tools, such as leasing arrangements, agricultural community land trusts (CLTs), cooperatives, and commons, are enacted. I bridge the theoretical and practical dimensions of such tools, arguing that alternatives must be understood through their contextual practices rather than lumped together as inherently transformative. By applying food movement theory to land access initiatives, I demonstrate that many access tools have the potential to both reaffirm and transform the way land is held. I call for greater collaboration between access efforts to reflect the needs of communities and land. Through 25 in-depth interviews with agricultural CLT stewards and practitioners across the U.S., I empirically examine the structural and operational multiplicity of the CLT tool in an agricultural context. Beyond providing access to land, agricultural CLTs foster an ethic of commoning that contributes to broader land reform efforts. Through unique benefits and challenges, agricultural CLTs create space for the reality of fluid, dynamic, flexible, and long-term relationships to land. Weaving my empirical findings and artistic practice into a zine, I highlight the experiential wisdom of CLT stewards. I argue that land access barriers require a plurality of approaches that reflect our impermanence and create material space to express relationships to land, within and beyond capitalist systems.
Recommended Citation
Eisenbeis, Phoebe Joyce, "The Land is Key: Reimagining Alternative Farmland Access in the U.S." (2026). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12718.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12718
© Copyright 2026 Phoebe Joyce Eisenbeis