ODA announces farmland preservation funding
REYNOLDSBURG – The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) continues to help strengthen Ohio’s top industry – food and agriculture. ODA is proud to announce that nine land trusts, seven counties or townships, and 26 Soil and Water Conservation Districts will receive funding to help preserve farmland across the state. These organizations will receive allocations from the Clean Ohio Fund to select, close, and monitor easements under the Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program (LAEPP).
Ohio landowners interested in selling an agricultural easement on their farms can fill out an application with their LAEPP sponsor organization. A total of $6.5 million will be made available in this round of funding. Local sponsors have been certified to accept applications in 56 counties. Landowners should contact the certified local sponsor in their county for application details.
“Ohio’s farmers are the driving force behind our state’s number one industry – food and agriculture,” said ODA Director Brian Baldridge. “The LAEPP is a vital tool to protect farmland and ensure Ohio families are fueled and fed. I encourage anyone interested to reach out to ODA or their local sponsor and help lift up our rural communities.”
The program allows landowners to voluntarily sell easements on their farms to the state of Ohio.
The easement requires the farm permanently remain in agriculture production. Selected farms must be 40 acres or more, actively engaged in farming, participate in the Current Agricultural Use Valuation program, demonstrate good stewardship of the land, have the support of their local government, and not lie directly in the path of development. Landowners may use the proceeds of the easement in any way they wish, but most reinvest it in their farm operations.
Funding for the program is derived from the Clean Ohio Fund, approved by voters in 2008. When combined with easements from all programs, 762 family farms in 62 counties have collectively preserved more than 111,000 acres in agricultural production.
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