Ag Protection Programs
There are a broad spectrum of programs that directly or indirectly protect agricultural land, the downloadable document is a list of all possible protection programs. Although the aim of some of them is not specifically the protection of agricultural land they can be used in conjunction with agricultural land. (download here).
Among them the most interesting ones are agricultural easements, Farm and Ranch Protection Program and Important Agricultural Land.
Agricultural Easement
Definition: A non-possessory interest in a parcel of land which restricts the conversion of the use of the land, preventing non-agricultural uses. (from: www.dnr.state.md.us/criticalarea/glossary.html)
In its main use an agricultural easement is the purchase or donation of development rights from an agricultural parcel by/to a non-profit organization such a land trust or by/to a governmental agency. The owner retains full control and ownership of the land with all the rights but the right to transform or use the land for other purpose than agriculture.
More info at www.privatelandownernetwork.org/plnpro/exageasement.pdf
Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program (FRPP)
The Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program (FRPP) provides matching funds to help purchase development rights to keep productive farm and ranchland in agricultural uses. Working through existing programs, USDA partners with State, tribal, or local governments and non-governmental organizations to acquire conservation easements or other interests in land from landowners. USDA provides up to 50 percent of the fair market easement value of the conservation easement.
To qualify, farmland must: be part of a pending offer from a State, tribe, or local farmland protection program; be privately owned; have a conservation plan for highly erodible land; be large enough to sustain agricultural production; be accessible to markets for what the land produces; have adequate infrastructure and agricultural support services; and have surrounding parcels of land that can support long-term agricultural production. Depending on funding availability, proposals must be submitted by the eligible entities to the appropriate NRCS State Office during the application window
More info at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/frpp/
This project was funded by a grant from the Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. Go to Western SARE website