Nashville's Traditional Farming Faces Decline Amid Urban Development
Bob Strasser, a fourth-generation farmer in Davidson County, represents one of the last traditional farmers in Nashville. Despite his family's long history in agriculture, Strasser finds himself isolated as urban development encroaches on farmland. Since 2010, Davidson County has lost nearly 30,000 acres of farmland, a trend that reflects the broader shift from agriculture to urbanization. Strasser's family farm, originally established near the Nashville International Airport, was relocated due to eminent domain in the 1950s. Today, Strasser continues to farm beef cattle and row-crops, but laments the lack of a farming community in Nashville. According to a University of Tennessee study, the loss of farmland is significant, with fewer than 100 family farms remaining in the county.