Bridging the farm and the food system.
Solutions in the Land was founded by an agronomist and a landscape architect who kept arriving at the same problem from opposite directions: working farms need urban systems, and urban food systems need working farms.
Two practitioners. One question.
Ron Doetch, an agronomist, was working extensively with farmers and the same problem kept coming up: landowners did not know what to do with their farms. Not only in the present, but as they aged, they wanted to preserve the land and the farming legacy but did not know how.
At the same time Jim Patchett, a landscape architect, was increasingly questioning why the design of our urban areas was not intersecting with agriculture and the food system.
Together they began working on projects that examined the needs of farms, landowners, and agriculture alongside urban infrastructure and environmental responsibility.
- Aging farmers and economic resiliency
- Food access and food waste in cities
- Damaging environmental practices on working ground
- Integration of urban and rural design
Change the course of US agriculture.
Solutions in the Land was created to be a voice in creating solutions for US agriculture, addressing the range of problems and questions facing landowners, farmers, city planners, and stakeholders in agriculture.
Urban areas need solutions to food access, food waste, and damaging environmental practices. Farming needs solutions to aging farmers, economic and ecological resiliency. Real solutions integrate the two.
- Plans that align stewardship with profitability
- Frameworks that move farms across generations intact
- Watershed and food-system planning that lands on the ground
- Independent advisory, never tied to a single input or buyer
Founders, agronomists, and planners
A small, senior team. The same people who scope the work also do it.
Ron Doetch, Agronomist
Co-founder. Decades of field practice with farmers across the Midwest. Anchors our agronomy and soil-health work.
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Jim Patchett, Landscape Architect
Co-founder. Bridges land-use planning, urban systems, and on-farm design. Leads our food-system and municipal work.
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The wider team
Four specialists covering agronomy, soil health, local foods, and project coordination, supported by a network of allied firms.
ExploreOur six-part planning process
The same framework, scoped to the engagement.
Guiding Principles
We list and agree on the principles the plan will adhere to and follow.
Regional Context
History, settlement, water, community. The past shapes the future.
Current Conditions
An inventory of soils, easements, fertility, and the lay of the land.
Opportunities & Constraints
Adjacent infrastructure, regulations, and legal requirements.
Recommendations
Resilience-first adjustments grounded in real farm economics.
Revenue Generators
Income-producing recommendations weighed against burden to the future.
Plans communities and landowners use
A small sample of recent published engagements.
McHenry County Comprehensive Plan
A county-wide plan connecting land use, agriculture, water, and food-system goals across northern Illinois.
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Jasper County, Iowa Comprehensive Plan
Long-horizon county comprehensive plan integrating soil, watershed health, and working-lands strategy.
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Hudson Valley Farm Hub
Whole-system planning for a regional food hub model now studied across the Northeast.
ExploreAbout the firm
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