By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Since 2002, preserving farmland has been an increasingly popular topic in Ohio. But according to a recent survey commissioned by the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s (ODA) Office of Farmland Preservation, state preservation funds are doing more than just preserving land.

The survey reveals that Agricultural Easement Purchase Program (AEPP) funds are being used to help implement on-farm conservation measures and expand the farm business.

“These funds are going far beyond the physical aspects of preserving agricultural land,” said Ohio Agriculture Director Robert Boggs. “They are also helping producers engage in more sustainable practices, which is good for the community, environment and economy.”

The Ohio State University Center for Farmland Policy Innovation performed the independent survey, to which 79 of the program’s 101 participants responded. More than half of the respondents indicated they are establishing new conservation practices on their farms since receiving funds from the AEPP.

In addition, 23 respondents are diversifying their farming business and 17 are establishing new or additional farm businesses.

Since the program’s inception in 2002, the department’s Farmland Preservation office has received more than 2,400 applications and helped preserve more than 33,460 acres of farmland across Ohio.

“These efforts are instrumental in preserving the future of the state’s $98 billion food and agriculture industry,” Boggs said.

The department received applications from 204 families requesting more than 29,000 acres be preserved in the following 37 Ohio counties: Ashland (17 applications), Ashtabula (2), Auglaize (1), Brown (3), Butler (1), Champaign (8), Clark (10), Coshocton (1), Delaware (4), Fairfield (29), Fulton (10), Gallia (3), Geauga (1), Greene (5), Henry (1), Huron (1), Knox (9), Licking (7), Logan (14), Lucas (1), Madison (7), Marion (5), Miami (9), Montgomery (9), Morrow (3), Perry (4), Portage (3), Preble (11), Sandusky (1), Seneca (11), Trumbull (3), Tuscarawas (2), Union (1), Vinton (1), Warren (2) and Wood (1).

According to Kaleigh Frazier, public information officer with the ODA, the department has been able to preserve 172 of those farms, totaling 33,460 acres in 33 counties.

An agricultural easement is a voluntary and legally-binding restriction placed on a farm. The easement limits the use of the land to predominantly agricultural activity.

The land remains under private ownership and management and stays on the tax rolls under Current Agricultural Use Valuation (CAUV). The farmland can be sold or passed along as a gift to others at any time, but the restriction prohibiting non-agricultural development stays with the land.

Applications for the easements undergo a two-step scoring process. The first step uses a formula that takes into account various measurable land characteristics.

The second includes a review by the Ohio agriculture director’s 13-member Farmland Preservation Advisory Board. Scores from both rounds are combined and the advisory board presents its recommendations to Boggs.

Funding for the AEPP is made available through the Clean Ohio Fund, which was renewed by Ohio voters in 2008; it not only helps preserve farmland, but preserves green space, develops recreational trails and cleans up Brownfield sites.