ODA announces 2024 Local Agricultural Easements approved for purchase
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) this month announced approval for local sponsors to purchase agricultural easements on 44 family farms representing 4,286 acres in 34 counties.
Local sponsoring organizations, which include land trusts, counties and local Soil and Water Conservation Districts, receive funding from the Clean Ohio Fund to manage the Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program (LAEPP). The easement ensures farms remain permanently in agricultural production. The program supports the state’s largest industry, food and agriculture.
“Food and agriculture make up Ohio’s number one industry, and it’s important to ensure it remains stronger than ever for years to come,” said ODA Director Brian Baldridge. “Farmers are committed to growing healthy crops and livestock, and tending to their land is just as important. Preserving what viable farmland we have left is critical to supporting agriculture and its communities in our great state.”
To be eligible for the program, farms must be larger than 40 acres or next to a preserved farm, actively engaged in farming, participate in the Current Agricultural Use Valuation program, demonstrate good stewardship of the land, have support from local government and not be in close proximity to development. Landowners may use the proceeds of the easement in any way they wish, but most reinvest it in their farm operation.
Funding for the state’s farmland preservation efforts is derived from the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund, approved by voters in 2008, and used to purchase agricultural easements from willing sellers through a competitive process. From 2002 to 2023, 631 family farms in 53 counties have collectively preserved 95,822 acres in agricultural production. Permanent easements preserved under related programs bring the total acres currently preserved in Ohio to over 106,000 on 710 family farms in 62 counties.
For more information go to: https://agri.ohio.gov/programs/farmland-preservation-office/farmland-pr….
Below is the list of counties where 2024 agricultural easements have been approved by the department.
ODA 2024 Local Agricultural Easements Approved for Purchase
Allen
Ashtabula
Auglaize
Butler
Champaign
Clark
Clinton
Crawford
Darke
Fairfield
Fayette
Fulton
Geauga
Greene
Harrison
Highland
Knox
Licking
Logan
Lucas
Madison
Miami
Montgomery
Morrow
Muskingum
Ottawa
Perry
Richland
Ross
Scioto
Seneca
Union
Warren
Wayne.
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