Butler is one of 57 counties enrolled in the Farmland Preservation Program. There are now 37 farms preserved in Butler County.

The state Agricultural Land Preservation Board established minimum requirements a farm must meet to qualify for the program.

The land is evaluated on the following terms:

• It must be included as part of a duly recorded agricultural security area in the township.

• It must have at least 50 percent of its soils available for agricultural production that are Capability Classes I to IV, as defined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA.

• Contain at least 50 percent of 10 acres of harvested, cropland, pasture or grazing lands.

• Be contiguous of at least 50 acres in size unless the tract is at least 10 acres in size and either utilized for a crop unique to the area or is contiguous to a property which has a perpetual conservation easement in place.

• The development pressure in the area. Suitability of the tract for development.

• Pre-existing perpetual restrictions against development.

• Location in an area identified by the county or township comprehensive plan as desirable for agricultural use.

• The applicant's stewardship of the land, conservation practices, best management practices, nutrient management, and erosion and sedimentation pollution control.

An applicant must submit an entire parcel as identified on the county tax assessment maps.

After an application has been submitted, it will be checked to make sure all minium requirements are met.

The application will then be scored using the county's Land Evaluation Assessment System. This system ranks the conservation easement application by evaluating soil and location factors for each tract under consideration. The land evaluation is 50 percent and site assessment 50 percent of the total score. In this way, farms are ranked by the quality of soils, development of farmland and clustering potential.

After applications are ranked each February, the top farms are appraised. All applications are subject to availability of funding and approval of the commonwealth's Agricultural Preservation Board.

The farmers must deposit $1,800 for the appraisal. The deposit will be refunded if the applicant does not sever the contract of sale and applicant accepts an offer equal to the appraised value of the conservation easement.

The appraisal report will provide the county Agricultural Land Preservation Board with an estimate of the value of the easement, which is the difference between the market value and farmland value. The land will be surveyed to determine the exact amount of acreage to be preserved.

Interested landowners have until Jan. 31 to submit an application. Contact the Butler County Conservation District Office for more information at 724-284-5270.

Also, please contact the conservation district if you are interested in completing a small project for fencing, barnyard improvements or Agricultural Best Management Practices. The deadline to apply for these grants will be Feb. 5.

Ron Fodor is district manager of the Butler County Conservation District.