Farmers may preserve land

Butler is one of 57 counties enrolled in the Farmland Preservation Program. There are now 38 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 a township.

• It must have at least 50 percent of its soil available for agricultural production that is in capability classes I to IV, as defined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.’

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

• It must have at least 50 contiguous acres or be at least 10 acres and used for a crop unique to the area or contiguous to a property that has a perpetual easement in place.

• Also taken into consideration are development pressure in the area and the tract’s suitability for development; pre-existing perpetual restrictions against development and location in an area identified by the county or township comprehensive plan as desirable for agricultural use.

• Also considered are the applicant’s stewardship of the land, conservation practices, best management practices, nutrient management and erosion and sedimentation control.

An applicant must submit an entire parcel as identified on the Butler County tax assessment map.

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

The application will then be scored using Butler County’s land evaluation system.

The system ranks the application by evaluating soil and location factors. The land evaluation is half the total score as is site assessment.

After applications are ranked in February, the top farms are appraised. All applications are subject to the availability of funding.

The farmer must then deposit $1,800 for the required appraisal. The appraisal report will provide the county agricultural land preservation board with an estimate of the value of the conservation easement, which is the difference between the market value and farmland value.

Interested landowners have until Jan. 31 to submit an application.

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