Preserve Your Farm
What is an Agricultural Conservation Easement?
- An agricultural conservation easement is a deed restriction landowners voluntarily place on their property to prohibit any land use other than for agricultural land uses. It will allow the land to remain in agriculture in perpetuity.
- Agricultural conservation easements are used by landowners to authorize a qualified conservation organization to monitor and enforce the restrictions set forth in the agreement.
- Agricultural conservation easements are designed to keep land available for farming.
Why is it important to Preserve Farmland?
- To assure affordable and accessible food supplies.
- To encourage soil and water conservation and to ensure a natural ground water recharge.
- To keep demand for public services and the taxes needed to support them lower.
- To preserve the culture and heritage associated with the farming community.
- To help preserve and save open space, the aesthetics and the quality of life that we all want to continue to enjoy.
Eligibility Requirements:
To Qualify for the ACE Program, the Farm Must:
- Be located in an Agricultural Security Area.
- Contain at least 50% of soils which are available for agricultural production and are of capability classes I-IV.
- Contain 50% harvested crop land, pasture lands or grazing lands.
- Must be at least 50 contiguous acres in size, 25 acres for a County only purchase, or a minimum of 10 acres of a unique crop, or 10 contiguous acres with an attached perpetual agricultural conservation easement.
How Farms Are Chosen For Easement Purchase:
- Farmland Preservation is a voluntary program. Any landowner meeting the minimum criteria is eligible to apply to the program.
- The farm is ranked according to the Land Evaluation Site Assessment (LESA) program. The LESA program considers four factors: soils, farmland potential, development potential, and clustering potential.
- Provided funds are available, the farms that score the highest are chosen for easement purchase.
- The quantity of farms selected is dependent upon the amount of funding available for each year.