By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — Keeping things green: That’s the goal of those at the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) with the Agricultural Easement Purchase Program using Clean Ohio Funds. The ODA recently announced that nearly 6,200 acres from 37 farms have been preserved this past year through this program, which is in its ninth round of funding.

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.

“This past year, the Ohio Farmland Preservation Advisory Board reviewed 203 applications from 37 counties competing for the limited money available through the Clean Ohio Fund,” said Kaleigh Frazier, ODA public information officer.

Applicants had the opportunity to earn up to 150 points based on a two-tiered scoring system. Section one of the application focused on development pressure, soils, proximity to other agricultural land, use of best management practices and local comprehensive land-use plans. Section two included narrative questions regarding the farm and its unique appeal to the Agricultural Easement Purchase Program.

ODA received 203 applications from 37 farms in the state.
According to ODA spokesperson Megumi Robinson, “37 percent of those who were rejected this round will re-apply the next round.”

Ohio has experienced a loss of more than seven million acres of farmland since 1950, an area roughly equivalent to 23 Ohio counties. Agriculture is vital to this state, employing one in seven Ohioans and stabilizing the cost of local community services.
“Land in agriculture can have tremendous environmental benefits, including supporting wildlife habitat and groundwater recharge,”
Frazier said. “And as the rural landscape becomes fragmented, so does much of our state’s cultural heritage. The current trend of farmland loss may result in severe consequences on the economic stability, environmental integrity and cultural identity of the state.”
The Clean Ohio Fund bond initiative won support from Ohio’s voters in 2008 to preserve farmland and green space, improve outdoor recreation and to encourage redevelopment and revitalize communities by cleaning up brownfields.

According to a recent ODA survey, state farmland preservation funds are doing more than just preserving land. Results of the survey revealed that Agricultural Easement Purchase Program 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 ODA Director Robert Boggs. “They are also helping producers engage in more sustainable practices, which is good for the community, environment and economy.”
More than half of the 101 respondents indicated they are establishing new conservation practices on their farms since receiving funds from the Agricultural Easement Purchase Program. In addition, 23 of the 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. The department has been able to preserve 172 of those farms, totaling 33,460 acres in 33 counties.

For more information about the state’s Agricultural Easement Purchase Program or the department’s Office of Farmland Preservation visit www.agri.ohio.gov